The Düsseldorf group was apparently attacked by hackers.
(Photo: dpa)
Dusseldorf The armaments group and automotive supplier Rheinmetall, headquartered in Düsseldorf, has fallen victim to a hacker attack. A spokesman for the Cologne public prosecutor said on Friday evening that the authority had initiated an investigation. The central and contact point for cybercrime North Rhine-Westphalia (ZAC NRW) has been part of the public prosecutor’s office since 2016. She takes over the conduct of proceedings in prominent investigations in the field of cybercrime. The spokesman initially did not want to comment on the scope of the attack.
Rheinmetall confirmed “an IT incident in the group’s civilian business” – this division is primarily active as a supplier to the automotive industry. The company said the military business was not affected. Rheinmetall is currently determining the extent of the damage and is in close contact with the responsible authorities. “In view of the ongoing investigations, no position can be taken on the details at the moment.”
According to information from the Handelsblatt, the IT systems for civil and military business at Rheinmetall are separate. While the systems in the civil division are said to have been shut down on Friday, work in the armaments sector can continue as normal. This was reported by people familiar with the matter.
So far it is unclear who is behind the hacker attack and what kind of attack it is exactly.
As first reported by the regional news portal Echo24, Rheinmetall subsidiaries are also said to be affected. Various systems are said to have failed at the Kolbenschmidt company in Neckarsulm on Friday. The subsidiary Pierburg in Neuss sent all employees home on Friday.
There are no indications of significant damage so far. Apparently the test is still running. The consequences of the loss of production remains to be seen.
Cyber attacks on companies almost every day
Companies like Rheinmetall are now experiencing cyber attacks on a daily basis. Most can be repelled. At the beginning of March, the Rheinmetall website was temporarily unavailable due to a hacking incident.
As a supplier to the automotive industry, Rheinmetall produces components for battery-electric vehicles, drive technology and lightweight components, for example. In recent years, however, the armaments business has become significantly more important. Because the demand for military vehicles and ammunition has increased enormously as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the company recently made the leap into the leading index Dax. Rheinmetall also supplies arms to Ukraine.
With agency material.
More: Rheinmetall hopes for orders worth billions from special funds