Whirlpool Suffers Ransomware Attack. Whirlpool, one of the largest home appliance manufacturers globally, is the latest company to fall victim to a ransomware attack. This year, hackers around the world had increasingly gravitated to ransomware attacks as their preferred method. This year, there have been dozens of high-profile, successful attacks on companies across the globe.
Whirlpool is truly one of the industry’s titans, with nearly sixty locations throughout the world and employing about 80,000 people. Unfortunately, their impressive size made them a tempting target. Whirlpool Suffers Ransomware Attack when the hackers breached their system utilizing the Nefilim ransomware strain and managed to remove sensitive data before encrypting files on several company servers.
It is increasingly common for hacking groups to publish some or all of the data they steal in a bid to hurt the company they attack, and that’s what happens in this case. Thus far, the leaked data has included documents relating to accommodation requests, medical information requests, background checks, employee benefits, and more.
Impact was only on a Handful of Servers
There’s no doubting that the publication of these documents is damaging to the company. Still, based on Whirlpool’s thorough investigation into the matter, the data breach’s scope and scale were relatively small. Only a handful of corporate servers were infected, and the encrypted files didn’t impact the company’s operations in any way.
The hackers who control the Nefilim strain aren’t active, tending only to make occasional attacks targeting larger corporations. Other recent victims include Luxottica, The Dussman Group, Orange S. A., and the Toll Group.
At this point, all of the impacts of Whirlpool servers have been fully restored, but unfortunately, the damage is done. Whirlpool does not know if the hackers behind the attack will publish more data or if they’ve already released everything they stole. Stay vigilant. Your firm certainly could be next.
