Belt Railway Company of Chicago Details

Belt Railway Company of Chicago

Bedford Park, Illinois • 450 employees • Transportation

https://beltrailway.com/

United States

Industry

Transportation

Security Incidents

The Belt Railway Company of Chicago (BRC) is the largest intermediate switching terminal railroad in the United States. Founded in 1882, the company’s primary function is to switch freight cars between different rail lines in the Chicago region, facilitating the efficient movement of goods throughout the city, which is a significant rail hub. The BRC operates approximately 28 miles of mainline track and over 300 miles of switching and classification track, making it a crucial component of Chicago's rail infrastructure.

BRC's operations play an essential role in connecting six major North Ame...
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Security Incidents

Belt Railway Company of Chicago Breach of Aug 2023

Severity Score

Significant to High

Type

Ransomware Attack

Summary

The Belt Railway Company of Chicago, a key player in U.S. and Canadian rail logistics, experienced a ransomware attack in which the Akira gang claimed to have stolen 85 GB of data. Despite the breach, the company's operations remained unaffected, and they have engaged a leading cybersecurity firm to investigate the incident alongside federal law enforcement. This incident highlights the ongoing cybersecurity efforts within critical infrastructure, influenced by recent TSA regulations that mandate network segmentation, access control measures, threat detection, and timely patching procedures. B...
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Severity

The Belt Railway Company of Chicago recently experienced a data theft incident attributed to the Akira ransomware gang, which claimed to have stolen 85 GB of data. Despite this significant breach, the company's operations remained unaffected, and they have engaged top cybersecurity firms and federal law enforcement to investigate. Given the potential exposure of sensitive information impacting critical infrastructure and various stakeholders, this incident is rated as "Significant to High," scoring an 8 out of 10 on the severity scale.

Impact

The recent cyber incident targeting Belt Railway Company of Chicago was a ransomware attack perpetrated by the Akira group, involving the theft of 85 GB of data. The investigation has not confirmed if customer data exposure occurred, but the compromised data includes certain company information. Despite the breach, the attack did not disrupt any railroad operations or services. Internal company data was stolen, but currently, there's no evidence that source code or other highly sensitive data was leaked. The company has engaged a leading cybersecurity firm and federal law enforcement to thorou...
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