FedEx (FDX) says the Petya ransomware attack on the company's TNT Express business in June likely caused a "material" financial impact on the company. FedEx also concedes that it still doesn't know when all of TNT's IT services will be fully restored, and there's a chance some of the data may never be recovered, according to a FedEx SEC filing today. Moreover, the company doesn't have cyber insurance to cover potential losses from the attack, the shipping company disclosed.
According to the FedEx statement:
"Given the recent timing and magnitude of the attack, in addition to our initial focus on restoring TNT Express operations and customer service functions, we are still evaluating the financial impact of the attack, but it is likely that it will be material..."
"...Although we cannot currently quantify the amounts, we have experienced loss of revenue due to decreased volumes at TNT Express and incremental costs associated with the implementation of contingency plans and the remediation of affected systems," the company continued.
All TNT Express depots, hubs and facilities are operational and most TNT services are available, according to the company. However, customers are still experiencing widespread service delays, including invoicing. As a result, manual processes are being used to facilitate a significant portion of TNT Express operations and customer service functions, FedEx said.
The most concerning line of all: "We cannot estimate when TNT Express services will be fully restored. Moreover, it's "reasonably possible that TNT Express will be unable to fully restore all of the affected systems and recover all of the critical business data that was encrypted by the virus," the company conceded.
FedEx shares are down about 3 percent today amid the SEC filing. That's hardly surprising, since recent research suggests cyber attack disclosures can have a key impact on stock prices and company valuations.
Petya ransomware attacks spread across the globe in June 2017. In addition to FedEx, victims included:
- Maersk: Danish transport and logistics company.
- Merck: American pharmaceutical company.
- Rosneft: Oil company owned by the Russian government.
- Saint-Gobain: French building and materials company.
- WPP: British advertising agency.
Petya Ransomware: Cybersecurity Experts Weigh In
Experts weighed in with a range of Petya ransomware mitigation advice. And some pundits wondered if the National Security Agency (NSA) could somehow be held accountable for the attacks, since they allegedly involved tools or hacking methods stolen from the agency.
The Petya ransomware attacks arrived roughly a month after the so-called WannaCry attacks also caused widespread damage worldwide.
