Petya Ransomeware Attack and the Impact on Global Supply Chains!

It’s a very painful reality that today’s global supply chains are under incredible stress and cyberattacks are increasing the pressure! The recent “Petya” ransomware attack is costing some organizations a ton of money as they scramble to recover, and the ripple effect across the global supply chain is astounding as ports around the world were forced to close. As we read in the latest Wall Street Journal Logistics Report[1]:

• Maersk A/S, the world’s biggest container-ship operator, has shuttered many of its ports around the world. French construction giant Saint Gobain resorted to manually operating some factory equipment. Other companies affected include Merck & Co., British advertising giant WPP Group PLC and Russian oil producer PAO Rosneft.

• Mondelez International Inc. confirmed that it was also a victim. The cause was determined to be a virus, which had been isolated, though the company’s systems remain down as of the release of the WSJ report.

• Ports in the U.S., Europe and India reported some Maersk-run container terminals weren’t taking ships. APM terminals in New Jersey and Los Angeles were closed Wednesday.

• The Port of New York and New Jersey said the New Jersey terminal would be closed Thursday as well. The Dutch port of Rotterdam, one of Europe’s biggest, said Wednesday that two container terminals operated by Maersk’s APM had stopped activities. “The port is still running at three quarters of its capacity,” said Martijn Pols, a spokesman with the Port of Rotterdam.

Imagine the impact of something like occurring as companies ramp up for the peak holiday shopping season. The importance of dynamic, intelligent supply chain planning and real-time monitoring has never been more.  Software alone can't solve this problem it also requires tremendous coordination of disaster recovery programs and processes. As we talk about a lot in this blog series, it's all about the people, the processes and technology working in concert and the need for this has never been more acute in today's global and digital supply chain!  Are your disaster recovery programs and processes ready?

 

[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/fallout-from-global-cyberattack-extends-into-second-day-1498639146?mod=djemlogistics