Orbcomm, a prominent provider of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) to the trucking industry, is grappling with a ransomware attack.
The attack, which happened this week, has temporarily disrupted the functionality of its Fleet Manager service, including its Blue Tree ELD systems. The company itself confirmed this incident and it may take up to two weeks to resolve.
Orbcomm’s restoration plan
It’s being reported that a notice sent to Orbcomm’s customers outlined the company’s “Rebuild and Restore” plan to fully restore the BT product line and supporting platforms, along with RCOM Reports, by September 28.
The service disruption specifically affects the BT product line, which forms the core of Orbcomm’s ELD offering and a reporting service known as RCOM Reports. The outage impacts Blue Tree ELD models BT500 and BT504.
In conjunction with this restoration date, users of the BT system have been granted an exemption by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to continue using paper logs until September 29 unless the BT system comes back online before that date.
The FMCSA exemption allows users of these ELD systems to utilize paper “graph grid” records or logging software until the specified date. However, this exemption could be lifted earlier if the ransomware attack is resolved and the systems are restored.
From the company
“Our internal and external teams will be working diligently on restoration over the coming weeks, and we know we will learn more as we bring certain systems and applications back online, but we wanted to share our target date with you,” Michelle Ferris, vice president of corporate communications at Orbcomm told Freightwaves.
The notice also assured that Orbcomm had not identified any indications suggesting that customers’ proprietary networks were or are at increased risk due to this incident.
Taking to Reddit
Some users of the Orbcomm service took to r/Truckers Reddit to convey their frustrations about the matter. According to certain users, it’s illegal to make use of paper log for more than 8 days – which doesn’ align with Orbcomm’s expected recovery period.
Another user posted the official notice for the outage by the FMCSA, which includes an extension for use of paper records. That is, until the company manages to restore all its systems following the attack.
