McMenamins, a Portland hotel and brewpub chain, was struck by a ransomware attack on Wednesday that may have stolen employees' personal information, but no customer payment information seems to have been compromised.
The ransomware attack was discovered and stopped on December 12, according to McMenamins. The company stated it alerted the FBI and contacted a cybersecurity firm to figure out where the attack came from and how extensive it was.
Employee data such as names, residences, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, direct deposit bank account information, and benefits records may have been acquired, according to the firm in a news release, but "it is not currently known whether that is the case."
"To provide employees with peace of mind, McMenamins will be offering employees identity and credit protection services, as well as a dedicated helpline through Experian," the company stated. "A payment processing service manages the collection of such information. Further, this information is not stored on company computer systems impacted by the attack."
Many operational systems have been taken offline, including credit card scanners, necessitating temporary alterations in payment procedures at some McMenamins sites. There is "no indication" that consumer payment data has been hacked, according to the firm.
The co-owner, Brian McMenamin stated, “What makes this breach especially disheartening is that it further adds to the strain and hardship our employees have been through in the past two years.”
“We ask that our customers give our employees extra grace as we make temporary adjustments in the way we process transactions and reservations, given the impacts to our systems by this breach.”
The company stated that it is unclear when the problem would be rectified and systems restored.
There are a few things firms can do to assist mitigate these attacks, according to Kerry Tomlinson, a cyber news reporter with Ampere News.
"As a business, you need to have backups," Tomlinson said. "If ransomware hits and they're demanding ransom for you to get your files back, you can say thanks a lot but I already have backups."
"It will happen more and more and it's only going to get bigger. If you're not paying attention now, you need to pay attention."
Employees should be especially cautious to help prevent cyber assaults, according to Tomlinson, by avoiding questionable emails, setting unique passwords for each website visited, and adding a multi-factor authentication process to offer an extra layer of security. It is worth noting that despite the breach, all McMenamins locations are open.
