Norsk Hydro has suffered a major ransomware cyberattack that has taken down the company's entire worldwide network, affecting operations and worldwide production, company officials have confirmed.
The attack unfolded on Tuesday morning, according to a Norsk Hydro statement. Amid widespread system outages, some of the company's aluminum production plants are now operating manually. The company has roughly 35,000 employees worldwide, according to 2017 stats from Wikipedia.
Updated March 20, 7:21 a.m. ET: The Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM), the state agency in charge of cybersecurity, said the attack used a virus known as LockerGoga, a relatively new strain of so-called ransomware, which encrypts computer files and demands payment to unlock them, Reuters reports.
Norsk Hydro Cyberattack: Webcast Media Briefing
The company offered this webcast update on the situation (click on image for webcast video):
"The situation is quite severe. Our entire worldwide network is down," a company executive said during the webcast. The main priority right now is to ensure safety, and there have been no safety-related issues so far, officials indicated.
The company has good backup solutions and will leverage those to re-install backup data. The main strategy is to use the backup data rather than pay the ransom, the company indicated.
MSSP Alert is checking to see if or how Norsk Hydro is leveraging MSSPs and forensics consultants to contain and recover from the attacks.
Initial Statement: Norsk Hydro Cyberattack
Here's the original Norsk Hydro statement from earlier today:
"Hydro became victim of an extensive cyber-attack in the early hours of Tuesday (CET), impacting operations in several of the company’s business areas.
IT-systems in most business areas are impacted and Hydro is switching to manual operations as far as possible. Hydro is working to contain and neutralize the attack, but does not yet know the full extent of the situation."
The company's website is offline as of this writing. Norsk Hydro promised to offer updates via its Facebook page, but that is also offline as of 8:28 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 19.
Norsk Hydro Cyberattack: Aluminum Investors Take Note
The attack has raised concerns across the aluminum industry. News of the attack pushed aluminum prices up 1.2 percent to a three-month high of $1,944 a tonne in early trade on the London Metal Exchange, before giving up some gains to trade at $1,935 by 1148 GMT, according to Reuters.
MSSP Alert will update this coverage as more details surface.
