This company was 158 years old and 700 employees. A weak password and click were enough to take it to bankruptcy

Imagine that you are working in a logistics company, of those that are responsible for managing the entire process so that a product arrives from one point to another, such as those that Amazon’s orders bring to us when we make a purchase, and that from one moment to another all the necessary systems to make the business stop working Due to a cyber attack. What would happen? If the systems do not return to normal, it would probably be a matter of time for the company to pay the consequences.

Of course, such a scenario should be avoided with cybersecurity measures, protocols, backups and others. But, let’s be sincere, not everyone is prepared as they should face security threats, even when they have the ability to severely damage or destroy your business. This is what has apparently happened to a British business group called KNPwhich operated 500 trucks under several companies, including a call Knights of Old.

When cybersecurity fails, the business can sink

The KNP CEO, Paul Abbott, He said in an interview with the BBC That it is believed that a group of cybercriminals managed to infiltrate the systems by guessing the password of one of its employees. What the group of malicious actors did, apparently called Akira, was Straw the data With a ransomware. “If you are reading this, it means that your company’s internal infrastructure is totally or partially dead …”, he said part of the rescue note that, curiously, did not include a specific rescue figure.

While the latter may seem unusual, it is also somewhat understandable. Some groups of cybercriminals They have even their own support mechanismswhere they can talk and negotiate with their victims. Recall that the final objective is usually to earn money, so we would rarely see a rescue figure high enough so that the attacked does not meet, but strong enough for the movement to mean some gain.

It did not transcend how much money the cybercriminals requested, but it is known that, according to the company, They did not have the money To make the rescue payment. The aforementioned British media collects the analysis of specialists that points to 5 million pounds (about 5.7 million euros). The amount of money, they point out, was unassumable for the company. It is not clear if from the firm they continued to negotiate with the group, but explain that by the end of 2023 the data “were lost” and the company soon declared themselves in bankruptcy.

Most employees were dismissed (about 730) and only 170, from one of the companies, called Nelson Distribution, based in Derby, retained their job, but this company was sold. This was the sad outcome for a firm with more than 150 years old.

It is likely that after reading this, many questions will come to mind, for example, about the preventive and mitigation measures of which we talked to the beginning. According to those responsible, KNP complied with industry standards and had insurance against cyber attacks. Apparently none of this was enough. Nor do we know if the company already dragged some kind of previous problem and the cyber attack what it did was complicate everything.

It is not a unique case. QUALYSEC warns that 60% of small businesses that suffer a cyber attack end up closing in the following six months for not having sufficient resources to recover. A report from Verizon in 2020 already underlined That same figure, highlighting the financial damage, the loss of reputation, the distrust of the clients and the operating chaos that leaves an attack.

Images | Man Truck & Bus UK | Freepik

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