Security News > 2023 > February > Dole production plants crippled by ransomware, stores run short

Irish agricultural megacorp Dole has confirmed that it has fallen victim to a ransomware infection that reportedly shut down some of its North American production plants.

"Upon learning of this incident, Dole moved quickly to contain the threat and engaged leading third-party cybersecurity experts, who have been working in partnership with Dole's internal teams to remediate the issue and secure systems," the statement continued.

CNN, which first reported the cyberattack, said the security snafu forced the company to temporarily shut down production plants in North America and stopped food shipments to grocery stores.

"Our plants are shut down for the day and all our shipments are on hold," the memo read. A Dole spokesperson did not respond to The Register's inquiries about these claims or the ransomware attack, including how much the miscreants demanded to unlock the food company's IT systems.

"The Dole attack is the perfect example of how ransomware can put organizations in a pressure cooker," Miller said.

After a 2021 ransomware attack against JBS Foods, one of the world's largest meat producers, that company revealed it handed over $11 million to resolve an infection that disrupted operations in Australia, the US and Canada.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/02/23/dole_ransomware_attack/