American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
Molson Coors is a multinational drink and brewing company headquartered in Chicago. It’s the second largest brewer in the US and the fifth biggest brewing operation in the world.
And on March 5, the global brewer announced that it had “experienced a systems outage that was caused by a cybersecurity incident,” according to a Form 8-K filed with the SEC, an attack that had “caused and may continue to cause a delay or disruption to parts of the Company’s business, including its brewery operations, production, and shipments.”
“The company is working around the clock to get its systems back up as quickly as possible,” Molson Coors said in its filing.
Molson Coors, home to bestselling brands like Coors Light, Keystone, Miller Lite Blue Moon, and others, operates seven breweries and packaging operations in the US, 10 in Europe, and three in Canada, hasn’t said how many of its facilities have been impacted. But a source reportedly told a local news outlet in Milwaukee, where one of its facilities is located, that the “hack is crippling – that the company can’t produce beer until it’s fixed.”
Not good…
It also isn’t totally clear when the attack took place or what kind of attack it was either.
In an email to Gizmodo, a company rep confirmed that “Molson Coors experienced a systems outage that was caused by a cybersecurity incident. We have engaged a leading forensic IT firm to assist our investigation into the incident and are working around the clock to get our systems back up as quickly as possible.”
And while there have been scarce details provided by the company regarding the nature of the attack, many cybersecurity analysts suspect ransomware.
Ransomware is malware that encrypts a victim’s information so that they cannot access files, databases, or applications. A ransom is then demanded to provide access.
This class of malware is a criminal moneymaking scheme that can be installed through deceptive links in an email message, instant message or website.
Molson Coors is a high-value target with a lot riding on the effective functioning of its brewing systems. And the implications become even more serious if whoever initiated the attack is trying to extort the company.
