Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of Durex, Dettol and Nurofen products, has revealed that its manufacturing and distribution divisions were affected by the NotPetya ransomware attack last month, leaving it unable to fulfil some of its customers’ orders.
The consumer goods giant behind Durex condoms and Dettol disinfectant revealed that the attack had disrupted manufacturing and distribution across multiple markets, leaving it unable to ship and invoice some orders to customers.
The company is still assessing the full financial impact but, according to analysts, the damage could be as high as £100 million in revenue losses. Its share price has also fallen 5% since the attack.
Other global companies are still struggling to recover from the ransomware attack that affected thousands of companies in more than 60 countries, including Maersk, Merck, WPP and FedEx.
Reckitt had listed cyber security as a ‘group major risk’ for the first time in its annual report last year. Despite stating that an attack could have a major impact, the assessment had indicated a medium possibility of such an attack occurring.
Reckitt had earlier stated that it had “simplified and strengthened its IT by consolidating suppliers, data centres and help desks, and invested in cyber security last year”.
The consumer goods giant had issued a statement saying: “Although we are working round the clock to minimise the impact on customers and suppliers, we do anticipate that some markets will experience delays in shipping and invoicing.
“Having taken steps to contain the attack, the priority now is to return to normal operations as soon as possible while protecting our systems.”
In the meantime, FT reports that the affected companies have said that packages are going missing and customers are struggling to place and track orders.
The continuing disruption at leading organisations highlights the severity and complexity of ransomware attacks.
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