Recently, one more business suffered serious disruptions due to a ransomware attack. This time, the victim is Symrise AG that disclosed a cyberattack, that sources reveal as a ransomware attack.
Symrise AG Cyber Attack
The German firm Symrise AG is a major flavor and scent producer. However, it has recently made it to the news, not for its products, rather because of a cybersecurity incident.
This attack can potentially have a far-reaching impact since Symrise has numerous popular firms on its customer base. Some of these include Danone, Loreal, Coca Cola, Nestle, Henkel, and Unilever.
According to the German media Handelsblatt, the company confirmed the cyberattack involving malware intrusion.
As far as we know, it is a criminal act with extortion intent.
Following the incident, the company shut down its services, including production, for security.
In order to be able to assess the consequences and to prevent possible further effects, the company shut down all essential systems.
However, they haven’t yet disclosed anything regarding the type of malware attack and its subsequent impact.
Clop Ransomware Attack Suspected
Although, Symrise AG has remained tight-lipped for any details regarding the cybersecurity incident.
However, Bleeping Computer has revealed the Symrise actually fell prey to Clop ransomware.
The attackers allegedly succeeded in intrusion via phishing emails. They then encrypted around 1000 devices on the firm’s network.
Nonetheless, before deploying the ransomware, the attackers also pilfered 500GB of data from the company systems. As evidence, they have also shared images of stolen files on their data leak website. These images represent sensitive data files including audit reports, passports, accounting documents, cosmetic ingredients-related information, and emails.
It remains unclear about how much ransom the attackers have demanded. Also, no reports are presently available about whether Symrise AG has paid or intends to pay the ransom amount.
Earlier this year, Clop ransomware had targeted the Maastricht University, a German technology firm Software AG, and many others too.