Norsk Hydro, one of the world’s largest aluminum companies, was hit by a ransomware attack that ultimately affected all 35,000 employees across 40 countries, causing severe operational disruptions. The initial breach was caused by an employee opening an infected email, leading to the lockdown of files on thousands of servers and PCs. The financial impact was nearly $71 million, severely affecting the company's operations including stopping production lines and forcing manual operations in some of its 170 plants. Despite the circumstances, Norsk Hydro decided against paying the ransom, instead opting to restore their data through back-up servers and sought to maintain transparency throughout the recovery process.
"id": "nor404050624",
"linkid": "norskhydroasa",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "03/2023",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization’s existence"