According to a recent report by French media LeMagIT, Hoya Corporation, a leading Japanese optical technology company, was recently attacked by ransomware, affecting the IT systems of its headquarters and multiple business departments. The ransom was $10 million!

The cyberattack was carried out by a group called Hunters International, which reportedly stole 1.7 million files. If it does not pay $10 million, its secrets, including EUV mask blanks and photomasks (reticle substrates and reticles), may be exposed. The group was formed after the FBI worked with German and Dutch law enforcement to take down the notorious ransomware-as-a-service group Hive. Although evidence points to a connection between the two, Hunters International insists that it has no connection with Hive. As a condition of the ransom, the attacker promised to unlock the files encrypted by the ransomware only after receiving the ransom. As part of the deal, Hunters International promised not to release any of the 1.7 million files (2TB of data) it stole from Hoya. Hoya Corporation is a major player in the semiconductor industry and a leader in the development of EUV lithography products. Therefore, its trade secrets may be particularly valuable to competitors or sanctioned countries. Hunters International claims to have a non-negotiable, no-discount policy for its Hoya data transfers. Because neither any ransomware group nor Hoya has released communications to confirm the true nature of the "incident" affecting Hoya's servers. However, the screenshots from LeMagIT are allegedly taken from "Hunters International infrastructure", which is an obvious smoking gun. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Hoya is a world-renowned supplier of medical technology and innovative high-tech products. Its business scope covers a wide range of fields such as glasses, medical endoscopes, intraocular lenses, etc. It also occupies an important position in the supply of key materials for semiconductor manufacturing, especially the production of EUV mask blanks and photomasks. Hoya has approximately 160 offices and subsidiaries worldwide, with a total of approximately 36,000 employees.

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