German battery maker Varta AG says cyber attack caused prolonged disruption across factories

Leading German battery maker Varta AG said it continues to face operational disruption across production plants as a result of a cyber attack that occurred on February 12.

 

The leading German battery manufacturer for global automotive, industrial, and consumer markets said that on February 12, it was a victim of a cyber attack that affected five of its production plants. 

 

As a precaution and to mitigate the impact of the cyber security incident, the company proactively took its systems offline and disconnected the affected plants from the Internet.

 

The company said that it launched an internal investigation to understand the nature and scope of the cyber security incident and damage caused to its production facilities.

 

“In accordance with the emergency plan for such situations, the necessary precautionary measures were implemented immediately. Additionally, a task force was set up instantly to restore normal operations as quickly as possible and deal with the incident with the support of cyber security experts and data forensics specialists,” Varta AG said in a press release.

 

In another press note released on Thursday, the company said that its “task force is currently working with the support of IT forensic experts and data analysts on the step-by-step testing and recommissioning of the systems.’

 

“There is currently no reliable information on how long it will take to process and resolve the attack or on when production at all five global production sites (Ellwangen, Nördlingen, Dischingen, Brasov/Romania and Batam/Indonesia) will be fully operational. However, the first parts of the plants are expected to start up again next week,” the battery manufacturer said.

 

Varta AG added that its non-IT-based processes continue to operate in the meantime, allowing it to deploy employees in all plants for maintenance, servicing and preparatory work. This, in the future, will help process customer orders once the plants are operational.

 

“Parts of the workforce that are unable to carry out their normal activities due to the consequences of the cyber attack will be deployed as best as possible for preparatory tasks and process improvements. Work is also underway in administration to prepare for full operations,” reads the latest press release.

 

While Varta’s investigation is still ongoing, the company has determined that the “cyber attack was carried out by an organised group of hackers who managed to break through the high security standards of VARTA’s IT systems with a high level of criminal energy.” Relevant law enforcement authorities have also initiated an investigation into the incident and the company will share more details on its recovery progress as and when available.

 

As of now, it’s not clear which criminal group is behind the cyber attack. The company is also yet to provide details on the nature of the security incident, though its brief description of the incident suggests that it could be a ransomware attack.