A leading Danish company, Skanlog, which distributes alcohol, household appliances, and e-commerce products to retailers in Scandinavia, has been hit by a widespread North Korean cyber attack. The attack, which took place on Monday night, has forced the company to shut down all of their online systems. According to the company’s CEO, Jørn Johansen, the situation has required a return to more traditional methods to keep the business running. “We have had to go completely manual, in recent days we have used paper and pen to process the goods,” he told Finans.dk.
The details of the attack suggest that it was a ransomware attack, where the hackers have infiltrated Skanlog’s systems and paralyzed their operations. Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the victim’s files and demands ransom to decrypt them. Jens Myrup Pedersen, a cybersecurity professor at Aalborg University, stated that manufacturing companies like Skanlog are particularly vulnerable to this type of attack. “Depending on how the attack is carried out, production can be stopped, but data can also be stolen and access to data can be obtained, which can be threatened to be leaked,” he told Ritzau.
This incident underscores the continued threat that cyber attacks pose to large companies with significant revenue, where the consequences of an attack can be catastrophic. It is a reminder of the importance of robust cybersecurity systems and preparations against potential threats.