Posted on June 25, 2023 at 9:11 AM
OceanGate Fires Whistleblower As Hackers Threaten To Leak Stolen Reddit Data
The director of marine operations at OceanGate, which is the company whose submersible went missing on an expedition to the Titanic, has been fired. David Lochridge had raised concerns about a first-of-a-kind carbon fiber hull alongside other systems before the maiden voyage started.
OceanGate fires whistleblower
Lochridge’s termination was recorded in a 2018 lawsuit. He was fired in January 2018 after he presented a control report about the vessel to the senior management at OceanGate. Some of the people to which the report was sent include the CEO and founder, Stockton Rush.
“Now is the time to properly address items that may pose a safety risk to personnel. Verbal communication of the key items I have addressed in my attached document has been dismissed on several occasions, so I feel now I must make this report so there is an official record in place,” Lochridge said.
The report has also talked about a wide range of issues that pose a risk to safety. Some of these issues include visible flaws in the carbon fiber that is supplied to OceanGate. These flaws heightened the risk of small issues leading to large tears because of “pressure cycling.”
The immense pressure changes experienced by this submersible are also visible. He noted that a scale model that was previously tested had prevalent flaws that posed a significant danger.
Carbon fiber composites tend to be stronger and lighter compared to steel. As such, a submersible becomes buoyant. However, the material is also prone to failure when subjected to stress. Lochridge addressed a hull that was created by Spencer Composites.
Spenser Composites is the only company that has previously created a carbon fiber hull for a submersible. Lochridge has recommended that a non-destructive test for the Titan’s hull be conducted to guarantee that the product was “solid and safe.”
The filing has also said that Lochridge was informed that conducting such tests was an uphill task. As such, OceanGate will be forced to rely upon the acoustic monitoring system that has been promoted for a long time.
The company has also said that the technology used in creating the submersible had been developed in-house. It was created using acoustic sensors that can listen to the tell-tale sounds of carbon fibers within the hull. The sensors also offer early detection to the pilot to grant them ample time to control the descent and ensure they can safely return to the surface.
Lochridge had urged OceanGate to set up a classification agency that would inspect and certify the Titan. However, one day after submitting the report, Lochridge had a meeting with the company’s CEO and human resource department. He was later fired from the company and sued for sharing confidential information.
Hackers threaten to leak stolen Reddit data
Hackers have threatened to share confidential information that was stolen from the Reddit platform. The hackers are demanding ransom from the platform not to release this information. The threat actors are also demanding that Reddit gets rid of the controversial API price hikes.
The BlackCat ransomware group shared a message on the dark web leak site known as ALPHV detailing this exploit. The ransomware gang is believed to have stolen 8o gigabytes of data from Reddit. The data was stolen in February after a breach was reported on the Reddit systems.
At the time that the cyber incident in February was happening, the CTO of Reddit, Christopher Slowe, alleged that the hackers had obtained access to employee data and internal documents. This information was obtained in a “highly-targeted” phishing campaign. Slowe has also said there was no evidence that personal user data was stolen.
Reddit has not shared any additional details about this hacking exploit and the hackers that were behind it. However, the BlackCat ransomware group has since claimed responsibility for the intrusion. The group has also threatened to leak confidential information that was stolen during this hacking campaign.
The type of data that was stolen by the hackers is still not known, and the Blackcat ransomware group has not shared any evidence of this attack. The BlackCat ransomware group is one of the most notorious cybercriminal organizations, and it is behind a wide range of attacks across the digital sector.
In March, the ransomware group was believed to be behind an attack that was conducted in Western Digital in March. The attack saw the threat actors stealing ten terabytes of data from the company. Part of the stolen data included personal information. The group also threatened to leak data that was allegedly stolen from the Ring video surveillance company.
