Asphalion, a Global Leader in Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Consultancy, Suffers Ransomware Attack

Asphalion, an international scientific, safety, and regulatory affairs consultancy company with offices in Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, and London, has been targeted by the ransomware group HiveLeak. The company specializes in expert consulting, strategic advice, operational support, and full outsourcing services for all product life cycle stages in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological, and medical technology industries.

Asphalion has a strong track record and is a reference in the international healthcare sector, with a key role in the implementation of new regulatory standards. The company has delivered solutions to over 1,000 clients from more than 50 countries, covering non-clinical and clinical development, CMC, dossier writing, regulatory procedures, vigilance, eSubmissions, and data management for both medicinal products and medical devices.

The ransomware attack on Asphalion is a significant blow to the company, which has been recognized for its expertise and experience in the regulatory and scientific field. The attack highlights the vulnerabilities of even well-established companies in the healthcare sector to cyber threats.

Company Size and Vulnerabilities

Asphalion is a global company with a significant presence in the healthcare sector, making it a prime target for ransomware attacks. The company's international reach and the sensitive nature of the data it handles make it a valuable target for threat actors. Despite its strong track record and expertise, Asphalion, like many other companies, may have vulnerabilities in its cybersecurity defenses that were exploited by the ransomware group.

HiveLeak and Ransomware Threats

HiveLeak is a ransomware group that has been active since at least 2022. The group uses the ALPHV ransomware, which is written in the Rust programming language and supports execution on Windows, Linux-based operating systems, and VMWare ESXi. ALPHV is marketed as ALPHV on cybercrime forums but is commonly called BlackCat by security researchers due to an icon of a black cat appearing on its leak site. The group has been observed deploying ransomware attacks since November 18, 2021.

Mitigating Ransomware Attacks

To mitigate the risks of ransomware attacks, companies should implement robust cybersecurity measures, including regular software updates, employee training, and the use of antivirus software. Additionally, companies should have a disaster recovery plan in place to minimize the impact of a ransomware attack.

Sources

• Asphalion
• Ransomwatch
• RansomLook