Evolution Mining Limited, one of the largest gold mining companies in the world, has suffered a major ransomware attack, the company has confirmed.
In a press release, the company said it was notified of the ransomware attack on August 8, 2024. After discovering it, it engaged external forensic experts to investigate the incident.
When the press release was issued on August 12, Evolution said the attack was fully contained.
No material impact
Given that the operations were seemingly intact, the unnamed attackers either failed to properly encrypt sensitive files or did not have access to production-critical workstations in the first place. It remains unclear whether the crooks were able to steal sensitive files from the target systems at all or not.
“The company does not anticipate any material impact to its operations,” the company said in its press release, adding that it had reported the attack to the Australian Cyber Security Centre. At the time of publication, no ransomware group had claimed responsibility for the attack.
Evolution is an Australian gold mining company that operates multiple mines in Australia and Canada. It was founded in 2011 and is currently one of the largest gold producers in the world, with major assets including the Cowal gold operation in New South Wales, the Mungari gold operation in Western Australia and the Red Lake operation in Ontario, Canada.
BleepingComputer reports that the company has more than 280,000 kilograms of gold in its ore reserves, giving it a strong market capitalization position. As a result, it is one of the top companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
In June 2024, another major Australian mining company, Northern Minerals, also suffered a data breach caused by BianLian, a Chinese cybercriminal whose focus shifted from ransomware to data theft.