Orion SA

History

2024: Loss of $60m due to uncomplicated scheme with fake emails

On August 10, 2024, the European chemical holding Orion SA, based in Luxembourg, reported a loss of $60 million as a result of cyber fraud. According to documents sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the attackers used an uncomplicated scheme with fake emails.

Cybercriminals have used the Business Email Compromise (BEC) method. The victim was an Orion employee: it is said that as part of a fraudulent scheme, numerous outgoing bank transfers were made to accounts controlled by unknown third parties.

Orion Engineered Carbons

BEC is a type of cybercrime in which an attacker, through email, forces a victim to send them money or trust sensitive corporate information. The offender impersonates the person the victim trusts and then asks to pay the fake bill or provide sensitive data, which he can then use for another scam. In the case of Orion, a preliminary investigation showed, no confidential information was leaked.

The company informed law enforcement agencies about the incident. Orion intends to use all available funds to recover lost money, including potentially affordable coverage. Business operations were not affected, but large losses are not excluded.

As a result of this incident, and if further reimbursement of the transferred funds does not occur, the company expects to register one-time losses before taxes in the amount of approximately $60 million for non-returned fraudulent electronic transfers. Investigations into the incident and its consequences for the company, including its internal control system, are ongoing, Orion said in a statement.[1]

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