Following cyber attacks on several British retailers, food logistics company Peter Green Chilled has been hit by a ransomware attack too.
In an email seen by the BBC, the firm, which supplies several major UK supermarkets, said the incident took place last week, but that its transport operations weren't affected.
The distributor is working with clients on how to keep deliveries going, it said, but has suspended order processing for the time being. It's not known whether the company has received a ransom demand, or who carried out the attack.
Somerset-based Peter Green transports chilled food, mainly to regional stores. It supplies several major supermarkets in the UK, including Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Waitrose, as well as M&S and Co-op.
The short shelf life of the products that the company handles increases the pressure to pay the ransom - though it's not known whether Peter Green has done so. The tactic mirrors the strategy used by attackers when targeting the healthcare and manufacturing sectors, focusing on operational disruption rather than data theft.
"Food suppliers like Peter Green Chilled are increasingly attractive targets for cybercriminals - not just for the data they hold, but because any operational disruption has immediate and far-reaching consequences. In industries where downtime hits supply chains within hours, the stakes couldn’t be higher," said Lee Driver, vice president of managed security services at Ekco.
"Like retail, the food supply chain is a sprawling ecosystem of suppliers, logistics providers, and digital infrastructure. Once attackers find a way in, they can move laterally at speed - crippling systems that underpin everything from production to delivery."
The incident follows recent attacks on the Co-op, Harrods, and M&S - the latter of which is continuing to feel the consequences. The company said this week that it expects disruption to its online services to last until July and that its profits are likely to be down by around £300 million as a result.
According to Sophos, 45% of retail organizations were hit by ransomware last year - down from 69% in 2023. However, the retail sector reported the second-highest data extortion rate, at 5%, and the mean cost to recover was $2.73 million, up from $1.85 million in 2023.
Six-in-ten organizations paid the ransom, marking an increase from 43% the year before, although the average payment fell by two-thirds.
"In food retail, even short-term disruption can lead to spoilage, logistical bottlenecks, and loss of consumer trust," commented David Mound, senior penetration tester at third-party risk management platform SecurityScorecard.
"Attackers are no longer just targeting data; they’re targeting urgency. In environments where product expiration and just-in-time delivery are business-critical, threat actors understand that every hour offline amplifies the pressure to pay."
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