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The French energy-management company Schneider Electric confirmed in November 2024 that it was investigating unauthorized access to an internal project-tracking platform. Extortion group Hellcat claimed it stole data and demanded $125,000 in baguettes, but the company did not confirm either claim. In January 2025, The Register reported that Hellcat had leaked employee and customer names and email addresses.
What happened at Schneider Electric?
On November 5, 2024, Schneider Electric told The Register it was investigating unauthorized access to an internal project execution tracking platform hosted in an isolated environment. The company said it had mobilized its global incident response team. The statement confirmed an investigation into unauthorized access; it did not confirm what data, if any, was taken.
The company’s description identifies the affected system as an internal project platform. The reporting does not establish that industrial control systems or energy delivery were affected or disrupted.
What did Hellcat claim and demand?
In November 2024, Hellcat claimed it had stolen more than 40 GB of compressed data and demanded $125,000 in baguettes, according to The Register’s report. Both the data volume and the demand are attributed to the extortion group, not independently verified findings or statements from Schneider Electric.
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The Register said Schneider Electric declined to answer whether Hellcat literally wanted baguettes or would accept cryptocurrency. The available reporting does not establish whether the demand was literal.
What data was reportedly leaked?
On January 28, 2025, The Register reported that Hellcat had leaked 75,000 email addresses and full names belonging to Schneider Electric employees and customers. That is a subsequent press report about the group’s leak, not confirmation in the company’s original incident statement. The report does not establish the complete scope of data involved.
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What remains unknown?
- The initial access method and the full forensic scope of the intrusion have not been established in the reporting cited here.
- Whether operational technology or energy delivery was affected is not established; the company described an internal platform in an isolated environment.
- The reviewed reports do not say whether Schneider Electric paid the ransom.
The Register describes Hellcat’s broader approach as double extortion—stealing files and threatening to leak or sell sensitive information—but that general characterization does not independently verify every detail of this specific incident.
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