Hackers reportedly demanded Schneider Electric pay a $125,000 ransom in baguettes after allegedly stealing 40GB of sensitive company data. The threat involved releasing data, including project and user information, unless Schneider publicly acknowledged the breach, which would reduce the ransom by half. Schneider confirmed a cybersecurity incident affecting internal systems but said its core services were unaffected. This shows how hacktivism and slowly transition to extortion.
This attack underscores rising cyber risks faced by critical infrastructure companies, including space and defense. For space cybersecurity, this incident emphasizes the need to safeguard data from ransomware that could disrupt sensitive satellite, communications, and critical space operations. An example of an equal attack might be demanding a piece of the moon as ransom for compromised astronaut data. Cyber vulnerabilities in organizations connected to national infrastructure could have cascading effects, emphasizing the urgency of robust cybersecurity strategies for assets both on Earth and in space.