Pottery firm targeted in cyber attack
A pottery firm has been targeted by cyber criminals in an attack, encrypting its servers to cause “maximum disruption” to its payroll systems.
Steelite International, Stoke-on-Trent, said its IT team rebuilt its servers just in time to ensure staff would still receive their wages, BBC News reported.
The firm said its IT team noticed suspicious activity and began to address it when a ransom request came through from the hacker.
“The hacker asked for 79 Bitcoins. One Bitcoin is worth around £2,500 so it wasn’t an unsubstantial amount. But we wouldn’t be held to ransom, we have not replied,” said finance director Jon Cameron.
“Thankfully, the hacker didn’t have chance to encrypt our back-up files, which meant that the IT team could restore function and prevent a potential catastrophe.”
The firm, which produces tableware for the hospitality industry and delivers to more than 140 countries, said it had since enhanced security measures to guard against another attack.
