One of the leading producers of automation tools is still experiencing outages after being hit by a ransomware attack over a week ago.
German giant Pilz notified the prosecutor's office and the Federal Office for Security in Information Technology after experiencing a coordinated cyberattack on Sunday, October 13. The company has set up an incident response team to identify the source of the attack and mitigate the issue but has warned that these outages will persist for several more days.
The company claims that all server and PC workstations have been affected worldwide since the Sunday before last. The website is only partially functional at this time.
The company has removed all computer systems from the network and blocked access to the corporate network to contain the issue.
The attack has impacted the company's delivery of shipments and communications. Email communications were brought back online last Friday. An update from the company yesterday claims that deliveries had restarted in "certain areas." No details on which countries have delivery available at this time, but Pilz operates in over 70 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Pilz offers a wide range of automation products, including configurable safety controllers, safety sensors, system and application software, networks, and safety automation systems.
Pilz is the latest enterprise to be target by ransomware authors looking for a big ROI on attacks. Trend Micro recently reported that attackers are being more strategic when selecting their ransomware targets, focusing mostly on government entities and large enterprises.
US-based shipping and eCommerce giant Pitney Bowes was also recently hit by a ransomware attack, leaving files encrypted on some of its systems and rendering services unavailable. Investigators believe the attackers used a phishing email or exploited unpatched software to illegally access the company's systems.
Security experts warn that phishing and unpatched software are responsible for the majority of cyber attacks over the last several decades.
To help mitigate these attacks, NNT suggests requesting a personalized ransomware mitigation kit, detailing the necessary automated vulnerability checks and group policy templates to fix any weaknesses in your systems automatically before they can be exploited by an attacker.
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