Cyberattack targets German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall
The logo of German defense company and automotive supplier Rheinmetall at their headquarters in Duesseldorf, western Germany, April 14, 2023. (AFP Photo)


The three divisions of Rheinmetall, a leading German armaments and technology company, were targeted by a cyberattack late Friday. The attacks, however, did not affect company operations, according to officials.

According to spokesperson Oliver Hoffmann, "the civilian business essentially consists of the company's activities that primarily address industrial customers in the automotive sector."

In addition to being in regular communication with the authorities, the cybercrime section at the public prosecutor's office in Cologne stated that it was aware of the occurrence and was conducting an investigation, while Hoffmann could not share more information due to the ongoing investigation.

Earlier, several media outlets had covered the attack on Rheinmetall and a few of its companies. Rheinmetall is expanding operations to provide Ukraine with weapons and ammunition.

Early in March, the firm was the subject of a cyberattack, but it claimed to have been mostly unharmed. Only the company's website, which is run by an outside service provider, was briefly down.

It is worth noting that, Rheinmetall is the largest arms company in Germany and among the top three Western producers of military equipment and ammunition. It is presently worth more than 10 billion euros ($11 billion) on the stock market.