Security News > 2020 > November > Food-Supply Giant Americold Admits Cyberattack

The attack affected the company's phone systems, email, inventory management and order fulfilment, according to reports on Twitter.

"Human-operated ransomware attacks begin with trojans or other exploits against unsophisticated vectors," Chloé 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 can result."

"The attack against Americold highlights a concerning trend of attackers targeting larger and more critical organizations," Andrea Carcano, co-founder of Nozomi Networks, said via email.

"This is especially unfortunate since Americold has an important role to play in the upcoming distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to its longstanding role in supporting the food supply chain. Each and every piece of the COVID-19 distribution chain must go through serious risk and cybersecurity audits, as though lives depend on it. Because they will."

News URL

https://threatpost.com/food-supply-americold-cyberattack/161402/