MONTRÉAL (BRAIN) — Raymond Lanctôt LTD and its NRG Enterprises division returned online Wednesday after a ransomware attack on April 30. All systems were shut down before any malware was loaded, the company said.
Jean Cloutier, Lanctôt's vice president of operations, told BRAIN no customer nor any other company information was accessed. He said a few B2B orders placed between midnight Sunday and 1:30 p.m. Monday were lost. Dealers placing orders during that span should resubmit them.
Lanctôt, which signed a multi-year agreement in November to distribute Mavic products in Canada, had its systems scanned and tested, with advanced software protection installed, said Cloutier, who added it took longer than expected.
Cloutier said this is the first time an attack occurred, but the company experienced increased phishing attempts and gift card email scams in the prior weeks. It's not known yet where the attack originated, he said.
J&B Importers experienced a ransomware attack last month that shut down its website temporarily, and KHS suffered a similar attack in February 2020.
"I would definitely advise others in the trade that it's time to upgrade their defense to this threat," Cloutier said. "One more piece of advice is the need and importance of training to all staff, from shippers to managers, on how to spot viruses and phishing attempts and proper security do's and don’t's."
