After attacks on our hospitals, municipal governments, and fuel supplies, hackers have gone too far.
There has been a shortage of cream cheese in recent weeks, one of many seemingly random products that have come into short supply amid widespread supply chain disruption and labor shortages. According to the report, hackers played a role. In October, a cyber attack forced the closing of a cheese giant with a cream cheese unit. The peak of the U.S. cream cheese season was at the same time as the hack, and demand was already high due to workers staying home during the Pandemic.
Cream cheese doesn't stay fresh for long compared to regular cheese, which can be stockpiled for months. Andrew Novakovic, an agricultural economist at Cornell University, said that manufacturers have difficulty obtaining sufficient supplies of starch, plastic film, and packing, as well as drivers licensed to truck dairy products. A cream cheese manufacturer isn't the worst target for a hacker right now.
The piece doesn't get into the specifics of what happened at the company, but they told the media that they had experienced a cyber event that impacted their ability to receive raw materials, ship product and produce product. In the past few years, large institutions and corporations have been attacked with a type of malicious software called Ransomware, which is a type of software that uses powerful cryptography techniques. Unless the victim is willing to pay a ransom for the key to unlock them, the systems are useless.
According to the Wisconsin State Farmer, while Andrew Tobisch couldn't confirm or deny anything about a ransom at the time, rumors were flying that the hackers demanded a $2.5 million payment from the company.
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The incident meant that plants and distribution centers couldn't use those systems, which they need to run. It impacted all of our locations, but fortunately, we have a specialized response team that immediately jumped into action and began working to resolve the matter.
The response to the problem is often more important than the problem itself; systems are often taken offline to prevent the problem from spreading. The operator of the massive Colonial Pipeline was forced to shut down after being hit with an attack. There was a gas shortage and minor panic across the Eastern Seaboard. The State Farmer reported that the dairy industry is no different from other industries in being unprepared for cyberattacks.
This is serious as hell. The publisher of The Milkweed told the paper in October that everything is computer-controlled. There will be ripples statewide and nationwide that could affect retail and food service sectors as well as farmers and other milk plants.
We will update this story if we hear back from Gizmodo.
The company was up and running within a few days, despite the impact on production. According to the government statistics, the overall production of cream cheese was down 6.9% in October 2021, which is likely due to the hack. The news agency was told by Kathy Krenger, a spokeswoman for the company, that at- home consumption of cream cheese is up 19% in 2021, and demand from the industry is up 75%.
The U.S. military has taken action against foreign gangs that target U.S. companies. This would raise serious concerns about the militarization of cyberspace, but we could look the other way because the bastards came for our cream cheese.
