Construction Giant Knauf Hit with Ransomware

Knauf Gips KG, one of the world’s largest producers of building materials and systems, has issued an apologetic announcement to customers and partners due to a ransomware attack.

Knauf is a family-owned company based in Iphofen, Germany, which produces building materials and construction systems. Its portfolio spans drywall construction, plasterboard, cement boards, mineral fiber acoustic boards, dry mortars and insulating materials.

Starting this week, the company is greeting visitors to its website with an ‘IMPORTANT MESSAGE’ in the center of the home page.

“Unfortunately, the systems of Knauf Group have been the target of a cyber-attack on the night to Wednesday, June 29,” the notice reads.

“Our cyber security system responded immediately, and the global IT team managed to isolate the incident. The protective decision was made to shut down services, while further forensics are in progress.”

The group is still busy trying to contain the incident and restore systems, suggesting it has yet to decide whether to pay ransom, or that it won’t cooperate with the attackers at all.

“We are currently working heavily to mitigate the impact to our customers and partners – as well as to plan a safe recovery,” the construction giant says. “However, we apologize for any inconvenience or delays in our delivery processes, that may occur.”

“We would like to thank you for your understanding and trust,” it adds. “Please rest assured that we will inform you about our progress, and as soon as we are ‘back to business as usual.’”

Bleeping Computer reports that the Black Basta group has claimed responsibility for the attack with an announcement on its extortion site listing Knauf as a victim as of July 16, 2022. The gang has published around a fifth of the files they allegedly stole from Knauf.

The dataset reportedly includes email communication, user credentials, employee contact information, production documents and ID scans.

With over 150 production sites worldwide, Knauf is one of the largest players in the construction industry. The group is also one of the largest investors in Russia and keeps close ties with President Vladimir Putin.