2023-12-19 17:39:18
Bad surprise just during Christmas shopping. Distributor and owner of around twenty popular brands, the American giant VF Corporation was the victim of a cyberattack which paralyzed part of its activity. Little known to the general public, the listed company has brands such as Timberland, North Face, Supreme and Vans in its catalog. Its sales are based on its own stores and distribution networks which could suffer the consequences of this intrusion.
“The attacker disrupts our business operations after encrypting part of our computer systems and stealing files including personal data,” said the Colorado company cited by the specialized media Bleeping Computer. All signs of the attack point to ransomware. Also called “ransomware” in English, this corresponds to malicious software which encrypts, making completely unreadable, the servers which host their victim’s data.
The cybercriminals will first try to sell them their data decryption key, the key to gaining access again. But if the target has a way to restore its backups and refuses to pay, they pull a second lever: the threat of publishing the siphoned data or reselling it to the highest bidder. None of the most active groups at the moment claimed responsibility for the attack.
A crucial period for sales
In response to the incident, VF Corporation took part of its IT resources offline in order to secure everything and find the entry point used by the hackers. The owner of Dickies, Eastpak and JanSport has also notified the American stock market watchdog SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and its shareholders.
The timing of the attack is no coincidence. “Ransomware attacks targeting the mass distribution and retail sector are particularly damaging during this busy period,” said Chester Wisniewski, cybersecurity expert at Sophos. The attackers thus put maximum pressure to extort the victim during a crucial period for sales, especially of winter clothing.
VF Corp assured that its stores, particularly in France, would continue to operate normally but the merchant sites of the brands mentioned could experience delays in taking orders and therefore in delivery before Christmas.
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