Norwegian aluminum giant Norsk Hydro faces $40 million loss after cyber attack

Norwegian aluminum producer Norsk Hydro is grappling with substantial financial losses exceeding $40 million in the aftermath of a cyber assault that disrupted critical segments of its operations. The company revealed that restoring its IT infrastructure to full functionality will take several weeks.

The cyber intrusion, which struck on March 19, forced Norsk Hydro to suspend certain production activities while resorting to manual operation for other units following a ransomware attack that incapacitated its systems. Despite implementing workarounds and manual solutions to sustain production in most divisions, one of its primary production units encountered significant difficulties recovering from the breach.

Preliminary assessments indicate that the financial toll during the initial week ranged between 300 million and 350 million Norwegian crowns ($35 million-$41 million). Addressing concerns about the financial impact, Norsk Hydro disclosed its comprehensive cyber risk insurance coverage, led by global insurer AIG, although specifics regarding policy limits were not disclosed.

In the wake of the attack, Norsk Hydro strives to restore affected business segments to normalcy. Currently, production levels in the Extruded Solutions division hover between 70-80 percent, with Building Systems operations remaining severely hampered, almost at a standstill. The company aims to attain a "reasonable level of production and shipments" from Building Systems by week’s end.

With its extrusion business integral to supplying components for automotive, construction, and other sectors, Norsk Hydro remains resolute against capitulating to hackers’ demands, opting instead to recover data from backup servers.

Norsk Hydro’s Chief Financial Officer, Eivind Kallevik, emphasized the protracted timeline for complete system recovery, indicating that the process may extend "weeks or longer."