Ransomware Attack: Hackers Crippled Operations At Biggest Candy Corn Maker in US Ahead Of Halloween

Ferrara Candy Co., one of America’s leading candy corn manufacturers, has been attacked by a ransomware assault that has now disrupted its operations. Many of the systems at the company’s sites were turned down earlier yesterday, just as Halloween approached. The waxy, tri-colored confectionery is one of several prominent food businesses that has become the latest victim in a spate of ransomware assaults on food corporations in the United States in recent months.

In a circular to US broadcasters, the Chicago-based US firm known for manufacturing popular products such as Everlasting Gobstoppers, SweeTarts, Red Hots, Boston Baked Beans, Lemondhead candies, Nerds, and more stated that it has been able to resume only some of its production facilities after a hacking scheme from cybercriminals.

Ferrara claimed that on October 9, several hackers sought money from the company. When the company’s computer systems were disregarded, they were hacked on October 19, just before Halloween. A spokesperson told broadcasters that the distribution centres had resumed shipping operations, although it was unknown how many orders the confectionery company would fulfil.

The US-based company stated in a statement to Crain’s Chicago Business that it had worked with cybercrime specialists to get some of its systems back up and running. However, the surgeries were only being carried out on a restricted scale. According to the firm, the majority of its Halloween orders were delivered out in August.

NEW, one of the largest farm cooperatives in the United States, was also hacked last month, raising concerns about food shortages across the state. According to HelpNetSecurity, a member of the hacker organisation Red Hacker Alliance used his computer at their office in Dongguan, China’s southern Guangdong province, to penetrate security via ransomware, which took down the company’s systems. According to a statement published by the Agri co-op, it informed state authorities and was trying “to investigate and repair the problem.”

Ransomware attacks, which are already common in the United States, might represent a significant threat to global cybersecurity “Encryption is used to obfuscate the data of the target company. On compromised computers, the thieves give instructions for negotiating ransom payments. They give decryption keys for accessing the files once they have been paid “According to the Associated Press, It goes on to say that before encrypting data, hackers “quietly copy important files and threaten to publicly release them unless they receive their ransom money.”

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