ELD Firm Orbcomm Hit With Ransomware Assault

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Know-how supplier Orbcomm was not too long ago hit with a ransomware assault that has resulted in outages for some prospects utilizing its fleet administration providers, the transportation software program firm confirmed Sept. 18.

Rochelle Park, N.J.-based Orbcomm gives the trucking {industry} with {hardware} and software program providers together with digital logging units. The corporate skilled a ransomware assault Sept. 6 that has since been impacting a few of its core providers.

“Orbcomm skilled a ransomware assault that’s quickly impacting our FleetManager platform and BT product line, which is utilized by a few of our prospects to trace and monitor their transportation belongings,” Michelle Ferris, vp of company communications at Orbcomm, mentioned in an announcement supplied to Transport Matters. “Upon discovering the difficulty, industry-leading exterior cybersecurity consultants had been retained to conduct an intensive investigation.”

The Blue Tree ELD fashions BT500 and BT504 had been the primary targets of the assault. One of many firm’s prospects instructed TT that its complete fleet had misplaced GPS visibility and e-logs capabilities on account of the ransomware assault.

“Now we have made important progress over the previous week and are working towards a goal date of September 28, 2023, for full restoration of impacted providers,” Ferris mentioned. “We proceed to offer impacted prospects with well timed updates as particular purposes and performance are restored over the approaching days main as much as September 28.”

The Federal Motor Provider Security Administration issued an extension on reporting instances for any service utilizing an impacted ELD mannequin registered by Orbcomm. The extension permits truck drivers to proceed to make use of paper data of obligation standing in lieu of digital filings.

“Drivers utilizing the recognized ELDs might proceed to document their hours of service on a paper graph grid or logging software program,” FMCSA mentioned in a discover Sept. 11. “As a situation of this extension, a service should preserve this letter on the service’s principal place of work and make a copy in every automobile with a malfunctioning ELD. A driver should make the copy of this doc accessible to a security enforcement official upon request.”

FMCSA added the extension will stay in place till it’s notified that the malfunctioning BT500 and BT504 ELDs have resumed service, or by Sept. 29. Orbcomm issued a service alert inside days of the assault warning prospects that some providers had been experiencing a systemwide outage.

“At current, the BT504 ELD put in on this CMV is in a state of malfunction and the driving force is using a paper Report of Obligation Standing for 8 days,” the service alert mentioned Sept. 8. “Orbcomm is working diligently to resolve this challenge as shortly as doable. This communication relating to the standing of this BT504 ELD is legitimate till Sept. 14 or till the outage is resolved whichever comes first.”