Americold

Americold, a cold storage giant, is currently struggling with a cyber attack affecting its activities, including telecommunications networks, email, inventory control, and order fulfillment.

Americold is a leading temperature-controlled warehouse operator that provides retailers, food service providers, and manufacturers with supply-chain services and inventory management. Americold runs 183 warehouses worldwide and has around 13,000 staff members.

Today, in order to avoid the spread of the attack, Americold was hit with a cyber attack that forced them to shut down their computer systems.

“On November 16, 2020, Americold Realty Trust (the “Company” or “Americold”) determined that its computer network was affected by a cybersecurity incident. As a precautionary measure, the Company took immediate steps to help contain the incident and implemented business continuity plans, where appropriate, to continue ongoing operations. The Company has notified and is working closely with law enforcement, cybersecurity experts and legal counsel.”

“Security, in all its forms, remains a top priority at Americold, and the Company will continue to seek to take all appropriate measures to further safeguard the integrity of its information technology infrastructure, data and customer information,” Americold said.

Sources have stated that various systems, including phone, email, order fulfillment, and inventory management, have been affected by the attack. Customers who wanted to pick up inventory for shipment were unable to gain access to warehouses.

Though Americold did not provide information on the attack, we were told by many sources that it was a ransomware attack. At this time, the ransomware function behind the attack is unknown.

With COVID-19 vaccines equipped for FDA approval and delivery, long-term storage would require cold storage facilities. The Air Cargo World website of the airport industry announced that Chicago Rockford Airport is seeking to partner with Americold to store distribution-ready vaccines.

This is a developing story.

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