Major trucking software provider confirms ransomware incident

One of the biggest providers of software for the trucking industry acknowledged a ransomware attack on Friday after reports emerged of issues that customers had with its products.

An executive of the company, New Jersey-based ORBCOMM, confirmed the attack to Recorded Future News but would not say which ransomware group was behind the incident or whether a ransom would be paid.

“On September 6, 2023, ORBCOMM experienced a ransomware attack that is temporarily impacting our FleetManager platform and BT product line, which is used by some of our customers to track and monitor their transportation assets,” said Vice President Michelle Ferris. The incident was first reported by BleepingComputer.

ORBCOMM provides dozens of trucking companies with electronic logging device (ELD) systems, which are mandated by the U.S. Department of Transportation to track how long drivers spend behind the wheel. The department granted an extension to all carriers using ELD models from ORBCOMM, allowing drivers to use paper logs while the system is down.

Customers of ORBCOMM had been turning to social media since last week to complain that they had to use paper logs in place of the digital system.

Ferris said the company is in contact with every impacted customer and plans to continue providing timely updates.

“Upon discovering the issue, industry-leading external cybersecurity experts were retained to conduct a thorough investigation. Importantly, all of our other systems and service offerings remain completely operational, and customers are using them as normal,” Ferris said.

Ransomware gangs have made a point of going after the operational networks of companies involved in critical infrastructure. Attacks on cold storage giant Americold as well as Sysco — one of the world’s largest food distributors – caused significant issues to manufacturers in 2023.

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity warned in March that ransomware was the most significant cyberthreat facing the transport sector in the European Union _ predicting that gangs would “likely target and disrupt” operational technology (OT) systems “in the foreseeable future,” potentially causing even more significant effects for victims.