a reported ransomware attack took down operations at the company, which in talks for COVID-19 vaccine-distribution contracts.
Americold, a fellowship whose cold-storage capabilities are integral to the U.S. food-supply chain (and soon, COVID-19 vaccine distribution), has confirmed an operations-impacting cyberattack, according to a filing with the Securities and exchange Commission (SEC).
The filing was brief and read in part: As a precautionary measure, the troupe took immediate steps to help contain the incident and implemented business continuity plans, where appropriate, to continue ongoing operations& Security, in all its forms, remains a top antecedency at Americold, and the company will proceed to try to submit all appropriate measures to further safeguard the integrity of its information technology infrastructure, data and customer information.
The attack appears to be a ransomware incident that started on Nov. 16, according to a Bleeping computer report. The onset affected the companys phone systems, email, inventory management and tell fulfilment, according to reports on Twitter. One truck driver on monday tweeted, At a Americold [depot] and their systems are down, they noted. They are unable to specify me to a door. wellspring let the waiting begin.
The assault is likely to be highly targeted and well-thought-out, according to researchers.
Human-operated ransomware attacks begin with trojans or other exploits against unsophisticated vectors, Chlo� Messdaghi, vice president of strategy at Point3 Security, said via email. Once a way in is found, malware is planted and privileges are elevated. These attacks often exfiltrate data before encrypting files and the attacks are drawn out, with months of potential compromise adding to the potential harms that canful result.
She added, Thats why these types of attacks pose a greater threat than automated attacks such as WannaCry or NotPetya theyre intentional and secretive.
Based in Atlanta, Americold is the largest cold-storage provider in the U.S., and it owns and operates 183 temperature-controlled warehouses globally, including in Argentina, Australia, Canada and New Zealand; and just acquired a similar company in Europe. For an idea of scale, it holds the contract for linking the ConAgra food-producing giant to supermarkets and consumers.
The snipe against Americold highlights a concerning trend of attackers targeting larger and more critical organizations, Andrea Carcano, co-founder of Nozomi Networks, said via email. These threats should be a wake-up call for certificate professionals responsible for keeping not only IT, but operational technology (OT) and internet of things (IoT) networks safe. In the manufacturing business, time is money, so the disruption of IT services as well as manufacturing downtime and shipment delays, translates to lost revenue.
Critically, Americold has also been in talks to provide storehouse and transport for the distribution of temperature-sensitive COVID-19 vaccines, according to reports.
Once again, we reckon that companies who dont deliberate themselves to live likely targets are the most likely of targets, said Messdaghi. This is especially unfortunate since Americold has an important function to gambol in the upcoming distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to its longstanding role in supporting the food render chain. Each and every slice of the COVID-19 distribution chain must move through serious risk and cybersecurity audits, as though lives depend on it. Because they will.
She added, The more that our critical data is protected by zero-trust actions, the safer well all be both day to daytime and particularly in national mobilization circumstances like the upcoming vaccine distribution.
