Who: Norsk Hydro

When: 19 Mar 2019

# of records involved: undetermined

What happened: One of the latest examples of the damage hackers can cause to business and industry occurred at Norsk Hydro one of the world’s largest aluminum producers who fell victim to a cyber attack that halted parts of its production.

How did it happen: This was a classic ransomware attack that used a relatively new strain of so-called ransomware virus known as LockerGoga. Like all ransomware,​ it encrypts computer files and demands payment to unlock them. The company had no plans to pay to unlock its systems but intended to restore their systems from backup servers. The company described their back-up systems as “good” and they had plans on how to restore their system to full operating status.

Outcome: While it is too early to indicate the operational and financial impact and the amount of time it will take to resolve the situation it appears the financial impact was limited at this point.