US aerospace and defense giant The Boeing Company is investigating a claim made by a LockBit ransomware gang that it had stolen “a tremendous amount of sensitive data” from the firm, which they threaten to leak if a ransom is not paid until November 2, 2023.

A LockBit admin told the vx-underground malware research team that the group has yet to contact Boeing about the theft and refused to further elaborate on the matter, so it’s not clear for how long the gang had access to Boeing’s systems, how much information was stolen or what kind of data was exfiltrated.

LockBit claimed their ransomware affiliate got access to the company’s systems by exploiting a zero-day vulnerability, but provided no further details on the exploit.

“We are assessing this claim,” a Boeing spokesperson said.

First observed in 2019, the LockBit ransomware operation functions as a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) model where affiliates are recruited to conduct ransomware attacks using LockBit ransomware tools and infrastructure. LockBit has gained notoriety for its sophisticated and ruthless strain of ransomware. It infiltrates computer systems, encrypts sensitive data, and demands hefty ransoms.

LockBit attacks typically employ a double extortion tactic to encourage victims to pay, first, to regain access to their encrypted files and then to pay again to prevent their stolen data from being posted publicly

In 2022, LockBit was the most deployed ransomware variant across the world and continues to be prolific in 2023.