Behind ICBC hack is a gang for hire that holds systems hostage

LockBit’s devastation has been roughly four years in the making. The group has been active since at least the start of 2020 and has hacked as many as 1,000 victims globally, extorting more than US$100mil (RM472.15mil) in ransom demands, according to the US Justice Department. — Dreamstime/TNS

In January, it hacked the UK’s Royal Mail and halted international mail shipments. Less than a month later, it struck a British fintech firm, paralysing global derivatives trading. It has crippled Japan’s biggest maritime port and struck Boeing Co’s parts and distribution business.

But arguably none of the recent cyberattacks orchestrated by LockBit – one of the most prolific ransomware gangs of all time – has shaken the financial world more than its hack of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. The breach disclosed Thursday by the largest global lender by total assets blocked some Treasury market trades from clearing, forcing brokers and traders to reroute transactions.