Ransomware operators announced last week they have breached the network of the Louisville the spirits and wine firm, Brown-Forman. The thieves claim to have exfiltrated 1TB of confidential data and plan to put up for auction the most sensitive info and leak the rest. The data accessed includes confidential employee information, company agreements, contracts, financial statements, and internal messages.
As a proof of the hack, the ransomware operators posted on their leak site multiple screenshots, as recent as July 2020, showing directories and files allegedly belonging to the company, as well as internal conversations between employees.
The hacker plans to force Brown-Forman into paying a ransom. Brown-Foreman has disclosed the incident and added they were able to prevent its systems from being encrypted. The company also reported the incident to the authorities and retained a third-party data security firm to investigate the incident and resolve this situation as soon as possible. While Brown-Forman noted there are no current negotiations, it does suspect some of the information has already been exposed.
If the company pays the ransom, the threat actor has promised to delete all copies of the data. However, even after payment, there is still no guarantee their data will not be leaked. And while Brown-Forman can afford a high-priced data security firm to assist them in rectifying the situation, most businesses are not that fortunate. 60% of small companies go out of business after a breach.
Centrality can help prevent this same incident from happening to your business. It’s what we do best, so let us help you keep your business safe. Contact us at 502.267.2552 to learn more.
