Pharmaceutical Companies Data Reportedly Stolen in Ransomware Attack

The Russia-linked ransomware group LockBit has claimed responsibility of a Cyber Attack which they launched on the Indian pharmaceutical company Granules India, as proof of the attack they have revealed segments of the supposedly stolen data. The presence of Granules India data was spotted on LockBit’s dark web leak site on Wednesday, marking the firm as one of the group’s most recent victims, according to a listing observed by TechCrunch.

Granules India, a prominent figure in the pharmaceutical industry since its inception in 1984, has yet to validate the ransomware attack. The Hyderabad-based company, renowned for producing common off-patent drugs like paracetamol, ibuprofen, and metformin, serves over 300 customers across more than 80 countries. Despite the alleged cyber attack, the company reported a 7.8% rise in quarterly profit to $14.6 million for the quarter ending March 31st, however its shares dipped slightly from $3.48 to $3.50. In contrast, last month the firm did disclose a cyber security incident to the Indian stock exchanges, stating that the affected IT assets had been isolated and that “appropriate containment and remediation actions” were being taken to manage the situation. It is unknown at this time if the two incidents are related.

LockBit has emerged as a prominent player in the world of cyber threats, having been flagged as the most deployed ransomware variants globally in 2022 and 2023 as malicious threat actors have been using it as “Ransomware as a Service”. It was first detected lurking on Russian language-based cyber crime forums in January 2020. LockBit has since claimed responsibility for attacks on a range of high-profile tech companies, from IT services company Accenture and tech manufacturer Foxconn, to British health service provider Advanced and even the Royal Mail earlier this year.

However, it is important to understand that it’s not just the private sector that has been targeted; the state of California’s finance department, the Los Angeles housing authority and financial software firm Ion Group have all reportedly fallen prey to this ransomware group. The U.S. Federal Cyber Security Agency (CISA) and international counterparts such as the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), LockBit culprits have extorted an estimated $91 million in ransoms through approximately 1,700 attacks targeting U.S. victims alone since 2020. The question remains whether Granules India will be another statistic in LockBit’s ongoing tally.

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