Ransomware attack disrupts manufacturing operations

When ransomware impacts an organization, particularly in industries like manufacturing, potential losses go beyond just the ransom but also include costs of downtime, recovery, and even property damage and injury to persons affected by the disruption.

When an alcohol manufacturer received an alert that the network at one of their plants was having issues, they called their processing engineer and saw a strange file — “Name-WASTED.” The file directed them to click a link. Instead, they called their IT provider immediately. 

After realizing they had been hit by a ransomware event, the policyholder contacted Coalition. We quickly reached out to a forensic firm and negotiations experts who contacted the cyber extortioner to begin negotiating the ransom.

The threat actor initially demanded $2,300,000. Coalition worked with the policyholder and the forensic vendor to gather relevant information and confirm that the threat actor no longer had access to the system. At the same time, negotiations moved forward, reducing the ransom from $2.3M to $705,000, and ultimately, $609,000. That’s a $1.7 million difference.

Meanwhile, we worked tirelessly to find a solution to allow the policyholder to bring some systems back up and continue working. The effort was urgent; when an industrial system is down, that downtime causes property damage. Ultimately, we were able to bring the computer system back online, but the machinery had suffered harm and could not come back online until parts were replaced or repaired. 

Because the policyholder had the proper endorsement, we covered the cost of their business interruption and the extra expenses from the repair. Coalition coverage can include the losses you incur due to the impairment or loss of use of tangible property that results from a security failure. We won’t cover the cost of the property itself, but we can help make up for the time lost while your organization recovers from a cyber event.

Just when you think your policy covers everything, you need to think about all tangential losses that can occur. We offer the most comprehensive cyber insurance policy in the industry.