A ransomware attack on US software maker Blue Yonder hit the operations of Starbucks and major British grocers last week. American daily Wall Street Journal gave this news on Monday. Blue Yonder belongs to the Japanese conglomerate Panasonic. The company is one of the world’s largest providers of supply chain technology. It produces software that oversees operations ranging from managing warehouses and transportation to processing returns.
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According to the Wall Street Journal report Last week, the attack disrupted the systems that Blue Yonder hosts for its customers. American coffee chain Starbucks said company-owned stores in North America have been affected by a ransomware attack. In particular, salary payments and recording of employees’ working hours were affected. The company had to switch to manual processes.
Other affected companies
American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor also says it uses Blue Yonder software. The damage caused by the cyber attack was still under investigation. The UK’s two largest grocery chains, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, were primarily affected by the closure of warehouse management systems for fresh food and produce. They maintained their operations through backup plans. Dutch supermarket group Ahold Delhaize, which owns various grocery chains, disclosed a “cybersecurity issue” in its U.S. network in early November, according to the Wall Street Journal. The incident caused product closures in stores in the northeastern United States for nearly two weeks.
Blue Yonder reported “disruption to hosted managed services environments as a result of a ransomware incident” on November 21. Since the incident became known, they have worked with external cybersecurity firms to progress the recovery. “We have implemented multiple defensive and forensic protocols. Experts and the Blue Yonder team are working on various recovery strategies and the investigation is ongoing,” it added. In a public announcement from Blue YonderOn Monday, the company said it was working to restore its services, but did not give a timeline.
(AKN)
