Major UK-based engineering company IMI has confirmed having its systems breached just over a week after a similar network compromise was reported by British multinational engineering firm Smiths Group, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
"As soon as IMI became aware of the unauthorized access, the Company engaged external cyber security experts to investigate and contain the incident," said IMI in a notice to the London Stock Exchange. IMI's disclosure follows a Dragos report detailing that nearly 120 ransomware attacks have been deployed against European organizations between July and September, most of which impacted those in the UK, Germany, and Italy. German belt drive manufacturer Arntz Optibelt Group was noted to have had its operations significantly disrupted by a ransomware attack in August. Additional findings from the report showed that the manufacturing industry was most affected by ransomware intrusions during the third quarter, followed by industrial control systems.