GrammaTech purportedly hacked by Play ransomware gang

U.S. cybersecurity research services provider GrammaTech, which counts the Department of Homeland Security, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and NASA as some of its partners, was claimed to have been compromised by the Play ransomware operation, Cybernews reports.

In a post on its leak site that did not include any data samples, Play ransomware alleged that it was able to pilfer private and personal confidential details, as well as business service data. However, Cybernews researchers downplayed the potential impact of the breach.

"If the company was hired to work with confidential systems, where their existence is hidden from the public, it might reveal some confidential details, but otherwise the impact is more limited," said researchers.

At least 376 organizations have already been compromised by the Play ransomware gang over the past year, with military and commercial aircraft industrial parts supplier Jamco Aerospace among its most recent victims. Play has been noted to have pioneered intermittent encryption, which has enabled accelerated data compromise.