Hackers Demand $125,000 In Baguettes Instead Of Crypto.

The French industrial giant Schneider Electric is facing a new cyberattack, the third in two years. The hacker group “Hellcat” threatens to disclose 40 GB of sensitive data, initially demanding an unusual ransom of 125,000 dollars in baguettes before changing their demand to a payment in Monero crypto.

Hackers prefer ransom in bread rather than in crypto

On November 7, 2024, Schneider Electric confirmed being the target of a cyberattack aimed at one of its internal project tracking platforms. A group of hackers, operating under the name “Hellcat” and represented by a Twitter user named Grep, breached the company’s systems to steal confidential information about clients and operations.

The peculiarity of this attack lies in the hackers’ initial demand: 125,000 dollars converted into French baguettes, a requirement that quickly morphed into a demand for payment in Monero, a cryptocurrency known for its high level of privacy.

According to Huseyin Can Yuceel, a security researcher at Picus, this unusual demand resembles a marketing strategy aimed at distinguishing this new group on the ransomware stage.

A new blow to the cybersecurity of Schneider Electric

This intrusion marks the third data breach suffered by Schneider Electric in less than 24 months. Last February, the ransomware Cactus had already compromised its Sustainability Business division, while in June 2023, the company had fallen victim to the CL0P team during the MOVEit attacks.

The hackers claim to hold over 400,000 lines of user data and directly addressed CEO Olivier Blum in their message. They highlight the impressive revenue of the company (36 billion euros by the end of 2023) to justify their ransom demand.

The company quickly responded by stating that it “is investigating the incident” while specifying that its “products and services are not affected,” the attack being limited to an isolated environment.

This succession of attacks raises crucial questions about the robustness of Schneider Electric’s defense systems, as cyberattacks multiply in the industrial sector. The demand for ransom in baguettes, while having a comedic side, has undoubtedly drawn media attention to this criminal group, which may have been their real objective.