Security News > 2024 > January > Freight giant Estes refuses to deliver ransom, says personal data opened and stolen

One of America's biggest private freight shippers, Estes Express Lines, has told more than 20,000 customers that criminals may have stolen their personal information.

"As you may be aware, on October 1, 2023, Estes discovered that an unauthorized threat actor had gained access to a portion of the Company's IT network and deployed ransomware," it said in a letter mailed to 21,184 people [PDF].

"In accordance with the standard recommendation of the FBI and financial regulators, Estes did not pay the ransom."

By October 24, Estes President and COO Webb Estes posted a video on X announcing that the company had "Completely restored our systems capabilities."

On New Year's Eve, Estes filed a data breach notification with the Maine Attorney General that provided some additional details about digital break-in, which it now says was indeed ransomware.

Estes did not immediately respond to The Register's questions about the intrusion, including what data the crooks stole, how they initially accessed the company's network, how much money they demanded, and why company exes made the decision to not pay the ransom.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/03/estes_ransomware/