AGCO ransomware attack knocked out equipment production for days
Cyberattack hit the US agricultural equipment maker, disrupting the company's business operation for days.
Cyberattack hit the US agricultural equipment maker, disrupting the company's business operation for days.
Global manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, AGCO, announced a ransomware attack hit it. The company said the attack impacted some of its production facilities.
"AGCO is still investigating the extent of the attack, but it is anticipated that its business operations will be adversely affected for several days and potentially longer to fully resume all services depending upon how quickly the Company is able to repair its systems," reads AGCO's statement.
Headquartered in Georgia, USA, AGCO assembles products in 42 locations all over the globe and owns over 1,800 dealerships in the US alone.
The company's statement on the cyberattack did not indicate which locations were affected. AGCO did not reveal whether hackers stole any data from its systems.
Tim Brannon, president and owner of B&G Equipment Inc in Tennessee told Reuters he has not been able to access AGCO's website for ordering and looking up parts since Thursday morning.
"We just have to trust that it will be over as soon as possible because we are coming into our busiest time of the year, and it will be very damaging to our business and customers," Brannon said.
According to Reuters, the company told dealers that it was 'prioritizing' the most business-critical systems. Sources also told Reuters that AGCO's 'digital systems' had been impacted worldwide.
Threat actors target agriculture businesses during the fall and spring months, when downtime costs are the highest, thus pushing companies to pay extortion fees.
Last September, US farm service provider New Cooperative Inc. was hit by a ransomware attack, causing fears that the disruption could impact the US food supply.
2021 saw several major cyberattacks against critical infrastructure assets in the West. Hackers severely disrupted operations of Colonial Pipeline, and meatpacker JBS, causing fuel shortages and stoking fears of food shortages.