Molson Coors Beverage Company is striving to recover from a cyberattack that triggered a systems outage and impacted brewery operations, production and shipments, according to an SEC filing.
Molson Coors has hired forensic information technology firms and legal counsel to assist the incident investigation. The beverage company did not disclose the names of cybersecurity company or MSSPs (managed security services providers) involved in the investigation.
Some media reports suggest Molson Coors suffered a ransomware attack. But the beverage company did not use that term in its description of the incident.
Molson Coors Cyberattack Details: SEC Filing Statement
An SEC filing about the cybersecurity incident stated:
"On March 11, 2021, Molson Coors Beverage Company (the “Company”) announced that it experienced a systems outage that was caused by a cybersecurity incident. The Company has engaged leading forensic information technology firms and legal counsel to assist the Company’s investigation into the incident and the Company is working around the clock to get its systems back up as quickly as possible.
Although the Company is actively managing this cybersecurity incident, it has caused and may continue to cause a delay or disruption to parts of the Company’s business, including its brewery operations, production, and shipments. In addition to the other information set forth in this report, one should carefully consider the discussion on the risks and uncertainties that cybersecurity incidents and operational disruptions to key facilities may have on the Company, its business and financial results contained in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in its 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021."
Still, the incident is not mentioned on the Molson Coors investor website nor is it mentioned in the Molson Coors news site (as of March 15, 2021).
Molson Coors Financial Performance
Molson Coors' business was under pressure even before the cyberattack. Indeed, fourth quarter 2020 net sales revenue decreased 7.7 percent, "primarily driven by Europe and Canada declines resulting from restrictions in the on-premise channel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic." In other words: When bars are closed, beer-related revenues suffer.
Molson Coors annual revenue was $9.65 billion in 2020, down from $10.58 billion in 2019.
Stay tuned to this blog for ongoing updates exploring the Molson Coors cyber incident and recovery effort.
