Starbucks jolted by ransomware attack on tech vendor
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Starbucks is the latest retailer to have its operations ensnarled as part of an ongoing ransomware attack targeting a massive software provider, the company confirmed Tuesday.
Why it matters: The coffee retailer has had to manually track the hours that employees work this week to ensure they're paid properly.
- Starbucks hasn't shared a timeline for when its operations will return to normal.
Driving the news: Blue Yonder, an Arizona-based supply chain management tech provider, has been battling a ransomware attack since late last week.
- The company, which is also owned by Japanese conglomerate Panasonic, has more than 3,000 customers across 76 countries and territories, according to its website.
- Ford Motor is also a customer, according to the Wall Street Journal. So are Sainsbury's and Morrisons, two of the United Kingdom's largest grocery chains, per CNN.
- On Friday, Blue Yonder said in a statement it was "working around the clock to respond to this incident and continues to make progress." A spokesperson said in an email Tuesday that the attack appears to have targeted its managed services hosted environment.
Zoom in: Starbucks is working quickly to bring its back-end services back online, Jaci Anderson, a Starbucks spokesperson, told Axios.
- Service to customers has not beeen affected, and the company is working to ensure that all employees are paid on time and in full, Anderson added.
The big picture: Over the last year, ransomware gangs have been attacking more tech suppliers in the hopes of also hitting their high-value customers.
- Supply chain attacks give hackers the best of both worlds: They can hit hundreds of companies while doing minimal work.
Flashback: About 100 million Americans were affected by a ransomware attack earlier this year on Change Healthcare, a payment processing tech provider for several pharmacies and health care organizations.
- Another ransomware attack on CDX Global, software vendor for 15,000 North American car dealerships, forced many car dealers to use pen-and-paper to process auto repairs and new car sales this summer.
What we're watching: It remains to be seen how many companies are reeling from the Blue Yonder incident.
- Only publicly traded companies will be required to disclose the incident in SEC filings — and they only need to report it if there was a material impact to their business.
Go deeeper: Retailers brace for looming bot attacks
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a comment from Blue Yonder.
