Toshiba’s French unit blames ransomware gang DarkSide for cyberattack, same group accused of Colonial Pipeline hack

A French subsidiary of Japanese tech conglomerate Toshiba said it was hit by hackers from DarkSide – a group that was earlier accused of attacking a major pipeline network in the US.

The Toshiba France Tec Imaging System (TFIS) said in a statement, cited by Reuters, that the cyberattack occurred on the night of May 4. Protective measures were activated within hours of the intrusion, and only a “very minimal” amount of work data was lost, the company said.

The TFIS blamed the ransomware hacker group DarkSide for the attack. Japanese broadcaster NHK cited IT security firm Mitsui Bussan Secure Directions, reporting that DarkSide claimed responsibility for the hack. The hackers allegedly left a statement on the darknet on Friday, saying they stole over 740 gigabytes of data from Toshiba’s French unit. The data was said to include both business and personal information.

The NHK report described DarkSide as “Russia-based.” The group made news this month after the FBI confirmed they had hacked into the network of the Colonial Pipeline, the largest oil pipeline system in the US. The pipeline was shut down for several days, sparking gas price hikes amid fears of fuel shortages. The operator announced that the normal work of the pipeline was fully restored on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden told reporters there was evidence that the hackers were based in Russia, but not proof that the Russian government was involved. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, denied that Russia was behind the Colonial Pipeline hack or any other hacks in the past.

US officials frequently accuse Moscow of orchestrating cyberattacks on American state agencies and companies, which Russia repeatedly denies.

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