Swiss industrial machinery manufacturer Schlatter Industries AG has said it suffered a major cyberattack.
In a press release, the company said it was “attacked with malware” on Friday, August 9, and an investigation is currently ongoing, with the company hoping to reveal additional details soon.
Schlatter added it believes the "professional" attack could be the work of a sophisticated ransomware actor, noting, "the unknown perpetrators are attempting to blackmail Schlatter.”
Niche market
At the moment, no ransomware groups have taken responsibility for the attack, and no sensitive data has been published anywhere.
Schlatter is currently looking into the attack to see if any data was stolen, bringing in internal ICT specialists, external experts, and notified relevant authorities of the incident.
“The ICT experts are working intensively to make all systems available and functional again as quickly as possible,” the company concluded.
Schlatter Industries AG is a Swiss company with around 350 employees which specializes in the development and production of industrial machinery, particularly in the field of welding systems and weaving machines. It was founded in 1916 and primarily focuses on providing solutions for the production of reinforcing mesh, industrial mesh, and wire products.
The machinery it builds are used in construction, infrastructure, and automotive, where precise and durable welding processes are crucial. It does not publicly disclose the number of clients, but being a major player in a niche market, it most likely has a substantial client base, which also makes is possible that it held plenty of sensitive information, too.
In the 2023 financial year, Schlatter generated net sales of CHF 128.6 million ($148m), with a consolidated net profit of CHF 5.1 million ($5.8 million).
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