Preparing for the Unexpected: unsure if your organisation is ready to deal with a cyber incident, talk to us! Get in touch now
Philipp katzenberger i I Jr Uoe Ro CQ unsplash

11 Jun 2020

More manufacturing companies endure cyberattacks

Fisher and Paykel, and Honda, have been added to the ever-growing list of manufacturing companies to be hit by significant cyberattacks, resulting in hackers in getting their hands on sensitive information, and preventing businesses from being able to operate.

Read more
Home Blog

Fisher and Paykel, and Honda, have been added to the ever-growing list of manufacturing companies to be hit by significant cyberattacks, resulting in hackers in getting their hands on sensitive information, and preventing businesses from being able to operate.

These incidents come as the Lion brewery company are still trying to recover from a ransomware attack that got into their systems.

Sources with direct knowledge of the situation have since confirmed that the attack on Lion's systems used ransomware, which encrypts and prevents access to system and data until a sum of money is paid to hackers, typically in bitcoin.

We're now seeing Fisher and Paykel, as well as Honda, also being the target in the latest round of cyberattacks. The hackers use a malware program called Nefilim to target Fisher & Paykel, and the "Snake" ransomware to attack Honda.

Unlike other ransomware, Snake targets industrial control systems. Honda announced it had temporarily suspended product at some of its manufacturing facilities after the attack on their systems, affecting plants in multiple countries.

Meanwhile, the hackers behind the Fisher and Paykel began publishing corporate files on the dark web network. These files contained financial data like balance sheets, reviews, and budgets dating back as far as 2013.

Staff at Lion lost remote access as a result of its attack earlier this week, which has also caused issues with the processing of customer orders. Since then, the company issued a statement saying it was "still investigating every aspect" of what it called a "major incident", but declined to specify what type of attack it had suffered from.

"This attack could not have come at a worse time for Lion," the company said, revealing the incident was uncovered on Monday, the Queen's Birthday public holiday across most of Australia."

"Throughout the COVID shutdown, we were able to continue to brew beer safely, meaning we have a good supply of product for the time being," it said.

"In saying that, this attack has impacted crucial aspects of the brewing process. We operate multiple large-scale breweries, which are heavily reliant on IT infrastructure."

Fisher & Paykel Appliances spokesman Andrew Luxmoore said in their statement that the attack on its business occurred last week and had impacted manufacturing and distribution.

"The attempt was identified quickly and, as a result, we locked down our IT ecosystem immediately.

"We are currently working with third-party experts to restore our systems and our ability to take and fulfil orders, as well as introducing additional security measures," he said.

Share this article

More articles