Thought Leadership
The pharmaceutical research company Inotiv has fallen victim to a serious ransomware attack. As the Indiana-based company reported to the SEC, encrypted systems were discovered on August 8, which significantly impacted business operations.
According to the company, the cyber attack has affected the “availability and access to certain company networks and systems”. Both internal data storage and business-critical applications are affected. There is currently no timetable for the complete restoration of the systems.
The management is working on gradually bringing parts of the system back online. Until then, Inotiv is using “offline alternatives” to maintain business operations. The law enforcement authorities have been informed of the incident.
Qilin Group assumed responsibility
On Tuesday, the Russian ransomware group Qilin claimed responsibility for the attack and added Inotiv to its leak site. The cybercriminals claimed to have stolen 176 GB of data, including research data from the past ten years.
In the past, Qilin has primarily specialized in attacks in the healthcare sector. The group is accused of indirectly causing a death through a ransomware attack on the British pathology service provider Synnovis last year.
Contract research as a lucrative target
Inotiv is a contract research organization (CRO) that supports pharmaceutical companies in drug development. The company generated revenue of USD 374.9 million in the first three quarters of 2025 from work on medical devices, cancer drugs, neuroscience and COVID-19 treatments.
In the SEC notification, Inotiv stated that it is not yet able to estimate whether the incident will have any financial impact. The sensitive research data that has been collected over the years makes the company an attractive target for cyber criminals.
