Ransomware attacks, like the one that cost Hanesbrands Inc. about $100 million in second-quarter sales, are increasing in frequency among corporations facing uncertain prospects of a complete restoration and recovery.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software employed by hackers that can block access to a computer system until a ransom is paid.
The Winston-Salem-based apparel manufacturer reported in a May 31 regulatory filing that it began experiencing the ransomware attack on May 24.
Hanesbrands disclosed Aug. 11 in its second-quarter earnings report that its global supply chain network and ability to fulfill customer orders were affected for about three weeks.
“At this time, we believe the incident has been contained,” the manufacturer said in a separate quarterly regulatory filing Aug. 11.
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“We have restored substantially all of our critical information technology systems, and manufacturing, retail and other internal operations continue. There is no ongoing operational impact on our ability to provide our products and services.”
A 2021 study by Cloudwards determined that 37% of all U.S. businesses and organizations have been a ransomware victim, with 32% of those group paying the ransom, but only 65% getting all of their data back.
A 2022 survey by HornetSecurity.com found that 21% of respondents to a ransomware study had been a victim and 9.2% “were left with no choice but to pay the ransom to recover their data.”
Those counts may be conservative given the reluctance of non-publicly traded companies to acknowledge a ransomware attack.
HornetSecurity said the average downtime a company experiences after a ransomware attack is 21 days, while the average ransomware amount that companies were forced to pay in 2020 was $170,404.
“While the cost of that downtime alone can be fatal for many companies, that is without ..
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