Hearing aid manufacturer hit by cyber-attack costing £78 million

The manufacturer hit by ransomware

Demant, a hearing aid manufacturer which operates globally, was hit by a ransomware cyber-attack in September which has cost the business £78 million to date.

hearing aid manufacturer hit with ransomware cyber-attack

According to ZDNet, this is one of the costliest ransomware attacks outside of the WannaCry and NotPetya incidents, incurring costs not in ransom payments as you’d expect, but in the incapacitation of the business’ critical systems.

The organisation released a statement after being hit by the cyber-attack, stating it was shutting down its entire IT infrastructure to contain the damage. This included its ERP software and production, distribution and service facilities across the world.

Whilst this action was taken to limit the damage caused by the attack, this has proven to be the biggest cause of lost revenue due to the impact on the company’s ability to receive orders and supply products.

Demant has a cyber insurance policy, although this is only expected to reimburse the company around £11.5 million; a small percentage of its total losses.

In a press release, the organisation states that half of its estimated lost sales revenue is related to its hearing aid wholesale business, highlighting the severe damage ransomware and wider cyber-attacks can cause for a business’ core operations.

The cyberthreat landscape for manufacturers

This is an especially stark warning to manufacturers and the dangers posed to their businesses; your core operation, which is the production of your products or parts, can be taken down and render your business inoperable.

The statistics around manufacturing and cyber-attacks are dire. 38% of manufacturers report being hit by ransomware (Datto), while over half of all UK manufacturers report experiencing a cyber-attack. For smaller firms, 60% will collapse within 6 months of experiencing a successful cyber-attack.

Manufacturer hit by ransomware cyber-attack

How you can protect your manufacturing organisation from cyber-attacks

Hackers are targeting the industries which are vulnerable without their core operating systems, and manufacturers definitely fall into that category. A successful cyber-attack can take down your entire production line, meaning your business can’t even carry out its core operations.

It’s critical to put in place preventative measures as well as implementing a comprehensive disaster recovery and business continuity plan so that, if your organisation does fall victim to a cyber-attack, you can recover in a faster and less costly way than Demant. We’ll show you how Datto’s unique solution can prevent any downtime as the result of a cyber-attack.

We’re committed to helping all our customers understand how to protect their businesses from these ever-growing threats. We have many customers in the manufacturing sector and, following this attack, we’re showcasing how your organisation can combat these attacks and downtime. That’s why we’re hosting a webinar dedicated to data protection, cybersecurity and disaster recovery for the manufacturing industry.

Prevent ransomware 2019

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Can’t attend the webinar? Sign up anyway and we’ll ensure you receive a copy of the recording.

This is the first webinar in our manufacturing series; we’re hosting additional webinars focusing on getting the most out of your investment in technology – you can see the full list of webinars below.

Categories: All categories, Blog Articles, Risk & Security, Security