An Ireland-based fresh food multinational has revealed that employee data was compromised in a ransomware breach that hit the company in February.
Dole employs about 38,000 staff in 30 countries and generated $9.2 billion in revenue last year, making it an attractive target for online extortionists.
Read more about ransomware: No major spike in reported ransomware in 2022.
The company revealed on February 22 that it had “recently” experienced a ransomware attack. Few details were provided at the time while the company investigated the scope of the incident.
However, new filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday contained much more information.
“In February 2023, we were victims of a sophisticated ransomware attack that involved unauthorized access to employee information,” it said. “As soon as we detected an attack, we took steps to contain it, maintained the services of key third-party cybersecurity experts, and notified law enforcement.”
The company has not disclosed how many employees were affected by the breach, but it could increase the costs associated with the incident if the hackers were able to steal personal information.
“As cybersecurity attacks become more sophisticated and more frequent, our preventative and incident response efforts may not be fully effective,” Dole acknowledged in the SEC filing. I got
“While we have invested in security protections to mitigate risks to our networks, systems and data, there is no guarantee that our efforts will prevent cybersecurity attacks or disruptions.”
The fresh fruit and vegetable giant claimed to the SEC that the incident had a “limited impact” on its operations, but reports at the time indicated that the company was temporarily closing its North American production plants and increasing access to stores. I was forced to stop shipping.
According to CBS, some shoppers complained on social media about the lack of items such as salad kits.
Editorial image credit: T. Schneider / Shutterstock.com
