Canada-based IoT company Sierra Wireless revealed on Tuesday that its internal IT systems were hit by a ransomware attack on March 20.
Sierra Wireless specializes in designing and manufacturing wireless communications equipment. Their products are used worldwide in industrial and enterprise settings, including in the commercial facilities, communications, government, energy, transportation, and water sectors.
Sierra Wireless said the ransomware forced it to halt production at manufacturing facilities, but it hopes to restart production “soon.” Its website and other internal operations have also suffered disruptions, but the company believes the attack has only impacted its own systems, pointing out that it “maintains a clear separation between its internal IT systems and customer facing products and services.”
“Once the company learned of the attack, its IT and operations teams immediately implemented measures to counter the attack in accordance with established cybersecurity procedures and policies that were developed in collaboration with third-party advisors,” the company said in a press release. “These teams, with the assistance of these and additional third-party advisors, believe they have addressed the attack, and are currently working to bring Sierra Wireless’ internal IT systems back online.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also been notified about the incident. The disruption caused by the ransomware has forced the company to withdraw its Q1 2021 guidance.
Sierra Wireless’ website is still inaccessible at the time of writing. SecurityWeek has reached out to the company for more information on the attack.
It’s not uncommon for ransomware attacks on major companies to cause disruption to production operations. A couple of recent examples are the attacks on beverage conglomerate Molson Coors and packaging giant WestRock.
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