The tyre and automotive parts manufacturer said its investigation was moving ahead with the highest priority.

Last week it said a cyberattack it reported in August had resulted in some data being stolen from the company.

Earlier on Tuesday business daily Handelsblatt reported that hackers had published a list of the data on the darknet and that it included budget, investment and strategy plans, as well as information related to some Continental customers.

Handelsblatt said the hackers had put the data up for sale for $50 million after Continental "apparently did not want to pay a ransom".

(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by David Goodman)