MAZE Claims Ransomware Attack on US Egg Supplier

The threat actors from MAZE published a claim, and data they say was stolen from a Minnesota egg supplier in one of their ransomware attacks. On the group's website – mazenews.top, they list Sparboe Companies as well as other organizations they have recently targeted with ransomware. Maze claimed the egg producer and supplier Sparboe was hacked on May 1, 2020. The group shared a zip file containing data they say was extracted from the Sparboe systems to prove the attack took place.

The Zip File Contained 17 Folders with Sensitive Data

The folders were filled with information on former and current employees, nest-run inventory, injury reports, expense report, dock schedules, and more data. The zip file was named 'part1', hinting that there is more information the MAZE operators might release in the future.

This Week in Malware Ep 6: Maze Ransomware #thisweekinmalware

Sparboe Companies didn't confirm nor deny the MAZE's alleged ransomware attack; they have yet to release an official statement on the situation. The company was started back in 1954 by Bob Sparboe, in central Minnesota as a chick distribution business. Sparboe grew to become one of the largest suppliers of eggs in the United States around the beginning of the 2010s.

The company suffered a backlash at the end of 2011 when an animal rights group released a video showing the conditions in a hen housing owned by Sparboe. The video showed shots from Colorado, Iowa, and Minnesota, with crowded cages typical for the industry and animal cruelty. The video showed distressing scenes of a worker handling chickens in an abusive manner and killing animals. When they were confronted about the video, a Sparboe spokesperson expressed the company's opinion. Sparboe believes the acts in the footage are unacceptable and entirely at odds with their values as egg farmers. The backlash resulted in the company being dropped as a supplier by Target McDonald's, Lund's Byerly's, and other grocery chains.