Cyberattack stops all deliveries at Wiltshire Farm Foods
The attack was so severe the firm couldn't even inform customers of the loss of service.
Ready meal retailer Wiltshire Farm Foods has suffered a cyberattack that made deliveries to customers impossible.
The attack has been so severe that the firm wasn't even able to call customers to tell them about the disruption, or even that their delivery would not be made.
Wiltshire Farm Foods is owned by Apetito, which specialises in providing packaged meals designed for hospitals, nursing homes, nurseries and other similar institutions.
Elderly and vulnerable persons - who benefit from the company's free home delivery service and comparatively simple meal prep - make up a significant portion of Wiltshire's clientele.
The company announced that it had been the target of a cyberattack on Monday, leading to severe issues with its computer systems. The company couldn't see what customers had ordered or their addresses, and had to temporarily halt deliveries.
'We are very sorry to say that Wiltshire Farm Foods is currently experiencing severe difficulties with our computer systems. These problems have been caused by what is known as a 'cyber attack',' the firm said.
Wiltshire is 'confident' that the hackers weren't able to access payment card information, because it doesn't store that data on its systems.
Recovery
Customers who are anticipating a delivery this week have been urged to get in touch with their local depot, because Wiltshire can't see that information.
The company expects it will be unable to complete a 'significant' number of deliveries in the coming days, as its computer systems still aren't working. It can't even access telephone numbers to contact customers.
Wiltshire said it is doing everything it can to recover from the crisis.
'Where we are able to take orders, we are only offering deliveries from Monday 4th July by which time we hope to be back up and running.'
Parent company Apetito also said it had been the victim of a 'highly sophisticated' cyber-attack that compromised its 'extensive IT security systems'.
'Our Crisis Management and IT teams (assisted by specialist external partners) are working all hours to bring critical systems back into operation as soon as possible,' it said [pdf].
Attacks of this type are becoming more prevalent in both the private and public sectors, as hackers try to extort money from victims.
The two firms are the latest in a list of high-profile victims in recent months.
Last week, a cyberattack on Yodel caused delays in package delivery and disrupted online order tracking; and in February, KP Snacks was the target of a ransomware attack.
Last year, Brazil-based meat-packing giant JBS was hit with an attack that targeted the company's servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems.