Popular UK motor racing circuit investigating ransomware attack

One of the most popular motor racing circuits in the United Kingdom is investigating a ransomware attack after a gang added it to its list of victims this week. 

"We are aware of this posting and are investigating this matter,” a spokesperson for Silverstone Circuit told The Record on Thursday. 

The circuit – home of the British Grand Prix since 1950 – was allegedly attacked by the Royal ransomware gang, which took credit for the alleged incident on Tuesday.

Dozens of Formula One races and motorcycle events are held at the track and it is operated by the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC). 

Emsisoft threat analyst Brett Callow said the Royal ransomware group is a relatively new gang following the encrypt-and-exfiltrate model. 

Anche la F1 sotto scacco dal ransomware. Royal colpisce l'autodromo di Silverstone. Il tempio della Formula uno britannico.#undergroundnews #redhotcyber #cybersecurity@sonoclaudio @atolivia @nuke86 @marcogovoni @AgostinoPelleg6 @atolivia @michele_pinassi pic.twitter.com/ZoGmrliB9Y

— Red Hot Cyber (@redhotcyber) November 9, 2022

“The ransomware is secure, meaning its encryption cannot be broken,” Callow said. 

Recorded Future senior security architect Allan Liska said that while the group is new, it appears to be made up of experienced hackers that previously worked as affiliates for other ransomware groups. 

“They have been known to use multiple ransomware types and unlike a lot of current ransomware groups which randomly generated extensions for encrypted files, they use the .Royal extension,” he explained. 

“They were also seen earlier this year using callback phishing campaigns. While this attack is not new, it is uncommon for ransomware groups.”