German drone maker reports cyber-attack
Quantum Systems says an attack has been contained; Bundeswehr does not confirm whether drones were temporarily grounded.
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German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems says it has fallen victim to a cyber-attack. The company discovered a security incident at the end of October and reports that an internal attack by hostile actors has been contained. According to a report by the Financial Times, the Bundeswehr may have taken drones out of service as a precaution, but the German Defence Ministry has not confirmed this.
Quantum Systems is based in Gilching near Munich and makes drones for civilian, government and defence applications. The company became internationally known through the use of its systems in Ukraine. The company says the incident was investigated by its own IT and security teams in cooperation with government agencies.
According to Quantum Systems’ statement, a cyber-security incident was identified at the end of October. The manufacturer says the attack has been contained and reported to the competent authorities. The company states that the nature of the incident poses no risk to end users or operators while the systems are being used.
That is the company’s own account. The company statement alone provides no independent confirmation that using the systems is safe. It therefore remains unclear what access the attackers had, whether they obtained data and whether operational software was affected. The identity of the attackers has also not been established.
The Financial Times reported, according to dpa, that the Bundeswehr may have taken Quantum Systems drones out of service as a precaution. The German Defence Ministry declined to comment to dpa. It therefore remains unclear whether German military systems were actually grounded, how long this might last and whether there are consequences for deployment or supplies.
The case does show why defence companies are a particular target. An attack can affect not only company data, but also confidence in systems used in a military environment. For now, the key established information is that Quantum Systems has reported an attack and that the investigation is ongoing. The technical extent and the perpetrators are unknown.
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The article strictly distinguishes between the company’s statement and the unconfirmed reporting about the Bundeswehr. The technical extent and the perpetrators are not presented as facts.
- confirmed Quantum Systems reported on 12 November a cyber-attack that had been identified at the end of October. — Dpa quotes Quantum Systems’ statement. source
- confirmed The company says the attack has been contained and poses no risk to operators. — This is explicitly Quantum Systems’ statement; the article attributes it to the company. source
- uncertain The Bundeswehr may have grounded drones as a precaution, but did not confirm this. — Dpa refers to a report by the Financial Times and says that the ministry did not respond. source
Editor's note
The cyber-attack was reported by the company and described by dpa. The alleged Bundeswehr measure and the identity of the attackers have not been independently confirmed.Sources
- Cybersecurityvorfall: Drohnenhersteller Quantum Systems meldet Cyberangriff — Main-Post / dpa
- Quantum Systems — Quantum Systems
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „cyberaanval drones”
- de Volkskrant — „cyberaanval drones”
- NOS — „cyberaanval drones”