Ransomware attack hits retailers worldwide

Supermarkets and retailers worldwide have been feeling the effects of a cyber attack on software platform Blue Yonder. From Sainsbury’s to Starbucks: among those affected are many household names.

Manual back-ups

The cyber attack on Blue Yonder once again exposes the vulnerability of global supply chains and business processes. On 21 November, the company was the victim of a large-scale ransomware attack targeting the cloud environment of the British organisation, that provides software for logistics and workforce management.

Consequences were sometimes severe: supermarkets such as Morrisons and Sainsbury’s saw their supplies of fresh produce disrupted, leading to empty shelves in some stores. Morrisons even reported that the availability of certain products dropped by 70 %. Starbucks also reported disruptions in staff scheduling and payroll, but was able to remain operational through manual solutions.

In the Netherlands, chains like Hema and Jumbo were affected by the outage, but both companies stated that customers were not inconvenienced thanks to emergency procedures and back-up systems. “We did not have empty shelves and we did not have to use extra staff”, a spokesperson for Hema said: the disruptions were limited to delays in logistical processes.

The timing of the attack, just before the important end-of-year period, seems quite deliberate. Blue Yonder, which serves more than 3,000 customers worldwide, has engaged external security experts for remediation work, but the last update is currently dated 24 November. The company has not said yet when it expects the situation will be fully normalised again. Experts are already stressing the importance of risk management: companies are urged to practice emergency scenarios and implement robust backup systems.