Cyberattack hits a third of Americold’s facilities

Around 30 percent of Americold’s 243 facilities were impacted by a cyberattack on the company’s IT systems in the last week of April, although the cold storage and transportation provider’s substantial inventory was not damaged by the incident.

“It is important to note that none of our safety procedures or structural capabilities within the impacted facilities, such as power and utilities, refrigeration systems, and blast freeze processes were compromised,” Americold CEO George Chappelle said on a May 4 earnings call.

The cyberattack on Americold’s computer network was first discovered on April 26, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Mandiant, the company’s cybersecurity partner, was coincidentally performing routine cybersecurity advisory services at the time and was able to act quickly to reduce the impact of the intrusion, Chappelle revealed. Americold immediately reacted by implementing containment measures, taking operations offline, and temporarily halting throughput at affected facilities.

The Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.-based company has already made progress in recovering from the attack, according to Chappelle.

“As of today, the impact has been reduced to approximately 15 percent and we expect to see continued progress over the short term,” Chappelle said.

Chappelle did not comment on who may have perpetrated the cyberattack, only noting that the company is working with law enforcement in an investigation.

This was the second major cyberattack Americold has reported over the last three years. The first incident was reported in November 2020, with tech publication Bleeping Computer reporting at the time that it was likely a ransomware attack. Americold has since invested USD 20 million (EUR 18.2 million) in cybersecurity, Chappelle said.

“We are all faced with an evolving cyber-threat landscape in which the cyber adversaries are persistent, continually evolving their tactics, techniques, and procedures,” Chappelle added. “As we recover from the impact of this incident, we remain committed to continued strengthening of our policies, practices, and technology to further protect against future attacks.”

Americold’s Q1 2023 revenue decreased by 4.1 percent year-over-year to USD 676.5 million (EUR 615.4 million), with a net loss of USD 2.6 million (EUR 2.4 million), according to company filings. However, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were up 20 percent year over year to USD 133.1 million (EUR 121.1 million), with growth in Americold’s global warehouse segment able to largely offset decreases in the company’s third-party managed and transportation segments. Americold also reported a record-breaking economic occupancy of 84 percent in Q1, driven by food manufacturers returning to normalized production.

In March, the company declared a first-quarter dividend of USD 0.22 (EUR 0.20) per share for shareholders. Americold first went public in 2018.

Photo courtesy of Americold/Facebook