Ransomware group Nitrogen claimed to have exfiltrated 8TB of data, including files related to projects involving Intel, Apple, Google, Dell, Nvidia and other companies.

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn has confirmed a cyberattack affecting its North American operations, after a hacking group claimed to have stolen 8TB of data from the company.

Nitrogen, a ransomware group that targets companies in areas such as construction, financial services, manufacturing and technology, claimed on Monday (11 May) to have stolen 11m files from the prominent tech supplier and manufacturer.

Nitrogen claimed that the extracted files included confidential instructions, internal project documentation and technical drawings related to projects involving Intel, Apple, Google, Dell, Nvidia and other companies.

The hacking group also reportedly posted a collection of sample files on the dark web.

Foxconn is a key manufacturing contractor for electronic components or entire devices, most notably Apple iPhones and iPads, as well as Nintendo gaming systems and Sony devices – including most PlayStation consoles – to name but a few.

Foxconn has a number of factories in North America, including US-based facilities in Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Indiana, and several across Mexico. While the company confirmed the attack, it didn’t specify which facilities were affected – although reports suggest the company’s Wisconsin site being affected, as well as its Houston, Texas site.

Days before Nitrogen claimed the cyberattack, Foxconn released a statement that IT systems at its Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin facility experienced a “technical issue affecting operations”.

In a statement provided to SiliconRepublic.com, Foxconn confirmed that “some” of the company’s factories in North America suffered a cyberattack.

“The cybersecurity team immediately activated the response mechanism and implemented multiple operational measures to ensure the continuity of production and delivery,” read the statement.

“The affected factories are currently resuming normal production.”

Nitrogen, which has been operating since 2023, is believed to be one of many ransomware offshoot groups that borrowed code from the Conti ransomware builder that was leaked in 2022 – Conti was the ransomware behind the cyberattack that significantly affected the Irish Health Service Executive in 2021.

Earlier this year, cybersecurity researchers from Coveware reported a considerable error related to Nitrogen’s ransomware – specifically the group’s malware that targets VMware ESXi.

The researchers analysed Nitrogen’s ransomware program and reported that a programming error prevents the group’s decryptor from recovering victims’ files, with the researchers adding that paying a ransom is therefore futile.

In other recent cybersecurity news, edtech giant Instructure reached an agreement with cyber gang ShinyHunters on Monday, after the group breached the company’s education management platform Canvas last week.

As per the agreement, the cyber extortion group has returned stolen data and deleted copies, and has agreed not to extort the institutions affected in the hack, Instructure said. The company did not say what it had given the hacker group in exchange for the terms.

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