Vice ransomware gang strikes IKEA Morocco and Kuwait, publishes stolen data samples on the Dark Web

IKEA Morocco and Kuwait have suffered a ransomware attack claimed by the Vice ransomware gang. The cyber crime group has included the retailer in its list of victims and has published samples of the stolen data on the Dark Web.

Ikea in a tweet said “IKEA Morocco and Kuwait faced a cyber attack, causing disruptions on some operating systems. The attack is being investigated in collaboration with the competent authorities as well as our cybersecurity partners.”

The company also said that the IKEA shops in Morocco and Kuwait operate independently and are managed by a Kuwait-based franchise and are not directly operated by IKEA distributors worldwide.

 

The notorious Vice Society ransomware gang has listed IKEA Morocco and Kuwait on its data leak site. A sample of the posted data suggests that the gang has gotten its hands on confidential business data. The compromised information from branches in Morocco and Kuwait could possibly include sensitive information, including the passport data of employees.

It is also suspected that the threat actors compromised IKEA branches in Jordan and posted stolen information on the dark web. Along with the data, the threat actors posted an excerpt from an IKEA promotional campaign, “We believe that no matter what we do in life, we should always be the absolute best at it.”

Earlier this year, IKEA Canada suffered a massive data breach that compromised the sensitive personal information of around 95,000 customers. The compromised information included customers’ names, email addresses, postal codes, phone numbers, and IKEA Family loyalty program numbers.

Commenting on the news, Immanuel Chavoya, threat detection expert at SonicWall, said, “Ransomware has evolved at an alarming rate, particularly in the past five years — not only in volume but in attack vectors. The latest data shows how bad actors are getting smarter in the development of evolutionary strains and more targeted in their assaults.”