Aluminum Giant Hit by Ransomware Attack
IsraelDefense
| 22/03/2019
By Kjetil Ree - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10225061
Norsk Hydro, one of the world’s biggest aluminum producers, said Tuesday it had been hit by an “extensive” ransomware cyberattack.
The Norway-based company, which employs more than 35,000 people in 40 countries, said the attack began on Monday night and has impacted “most business areas,” forcing the aluminum maker to switch to manual operations.
“IT-systems in most business areas are impacted and Hydro is switching to manual operations as far as possible. Hydro is working to contain and neutralize the attack, but does not yet know the full extent of the situation,” the company said.
The Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM) said, “We are helping Norsk Hydro with the handling of the situation, and sharing this information with other sectors in Norway and with our international partners.”
Hydro is reportedly rushing to identify the encryption virus behind the attack and hopes to use back-up data to restore its IT systems rather than pay the ransom. Norwegian cyber authorities said they had yet to identify the virus or the hackers but one hypothesis was that it was ransomware called LockerGoga, thought to be used in an attack this year against French company Altran Technologies.
[Sources: TechCrunch, Fortune, Reuters, Financial Times]
By Kjetil Ree - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10225061
Norsk Hydro, one of the world’s biggest aluminum producers, said Tuesday it had been hit by an “extensive” ransomware cyberattack.
The Norway-based company, which employs more than 35,000 people in 40 countries, said the attack began on Monday night and has impacted “most business areas,” forcing the aluminum maker to switch to manual operations.
“IT-systems in most business areas are impacted and Hydro is switching to manual operations as far as possible. Hydro is working to contain and neutralize the attack, but does not yet know the full extent of the situation,” the company said.
The Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM) said, “We are helping Norsk Hydro with the handling of the situation, and sharing this information with other sectors in Norway and with our international partners.”
Hydro is reportedly rushing to identify the encryption virus behind the attack and hopes to use back-up data to restore its IT systems rather than pay the ransom. Norwegian cyber authorities said they had yet to identify the virus or the hackers but one hypothesis was that it was ransomware called LockerGoga, thought to be used in an attack this year against French company Altran Technologies.
[Sources: TechCrunch, Fortune, Reuters, Financial Times]
