Logistics business Peter Green Chilled has informed its customers it is suffering a ransomware attack.
The Somerset-based company – which offers chilled and frozen warehousing and distribution – told clients last week it had been forced to suspend some operations, meaning orders into Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi were cancelled.
In an update over the weekend, the company – which works with clients in dairy, meat, ready meals, drinks, confectionery and free-from categories, including The Black Farmer and Rodda’s – said it was working to “re-establish on-site systems and restore full functionality as quickly as possible”.
It has told concerned clients that “external cybersecurity specialists are still carrying out a detailed investigation” regarding whether their data had been compromised in the attack. “We do not yet have full confirmation of the scope of this incident,” it said.
In an update this morning it added that: “Our teams, alongside external cybersecurity experts, remain fully engaged in the recovery process.”
While larger supermarket deliveries have been prioritised, it is understood case picking of mixed pallets remains offline.
Sophie McGregor, co-founder and CEO of Peter Green Chilled client Griddle, was positive about the company’s response to the attack.
“The team has done everything possible to minimise loss of sales and the impact on all businesses,” she said.
“Naturally priority has gone to orders going out to national retailers and whilst there have been delays, the team have done everything possible to avoid orders being cancelled outright,” McGregor added. “We have had to adjust our procedures and place orders manually but we’ve been working alongside Peter Green continuously and can’t fault them.”
The incident follows a spate of cyberattacks on the grocery sector, with victims including M&S and the Co-op.
Dr Ilia Kolochenko, CEO at ImmuniWeb and a fellow at the British Computer Society, told The Grocer he predicted “a surge of stealth cyberattacks” against suppliers and vendors of large retailers.
“Cybercriminals – ofttimes in contrast to relaxed VC-backed cybersecurity firms – are militarily pragmatic, focusing their efforts on the fastest and most cost-efficient ways to compromise the data they need,” he said.
”Unlike their wealthy clients, suppliers frequently do not have sufficient cybersecurity budgets or simply neglect data protection, naively believing that nobody wants to hack them. In reality, being a low-hanging fruit, suppliers and vendors have become the number-one priority for organised cybercrime,” Kolochenko added.
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