Coca-Cola investigating claims of hack after ransomware group hawks stolen data

Coca-Cola said it is investigating reports of a data breach after a ransomware group claimed to have stolen documents from the beverage giant. 

In a statement to The Record, a Coca-Cola spokesperson said they have already contacted law enforcement about the incident. 

"We are aware of this matter and are investigating to determine the validity of the claim,” Coca-Cola communications vice president Scott Leith said.

The Stormous ransomware claimed this week that it stole 161 GB of data from Coca-Cola and has been trying to sell the data. 

The group is offering the stolen data for about $64,000. 

Coca cola hacked pic.twitter.com/cVpKCTcD8T

— Clandestine (@akaclandestine) April 25, 2022

The operators behind the ransomware group made waves earlier this year after being one of the few to announce full support for the Russian government during the invasion of Ukraine. 

“The STORMOUS team has officially announced its support for the Russian governments. And if any party in different parts of the world decides to organize a cyberattack or cyberattacks against Russia, we will be in the right direction and will make all our efforts to abandon the supplication of the West, especially the infrastructure,” the group said in a message in March.  

“Perhaps the hacking operation that our team carried out for the government of Ukraine and a Ukrainian airline was just a simple operation but what is coming will be bigger!!” 

STORMOUS ransomware gang has officially announced its support for the Russian governments. pic.twitter.com/D0qHccZ8jU

— Fusion Intelligence Center @ DarkTracer (@darktracer_int) March 1, 2022

Experts said the group has existed since the beginning of of the year and appears to be financially motivated. Despite pledging its support for Russia, their messages are generally posted in Arabic. 

The group issued a warning against “western unions” and more specifically companies in the US after being “attacked” by unspecified US companies that were able to shut down their site. 

Coca-Cola was one of the biggest companies in the world to announce last month that it was pulling out of Russia entirely and closing its operations in the country after the invasion. On Monday, they reported a Q1 revenue of $10.49 billion.