Staples, the office supplies giant, is currently experiencing significant disruption due to a cyber-attack that occurred late last week. The retailer has apologized to customers for the inconvenience, particularly affecting their communications and customer service lines. However, they assured that other aspects of their order processing and delivery operations are functioning normally.
The cyber-attack, first reported by Staples on Thursday, initially caused temporary disruption to their processing and delivery services during a critical time for retailers. According to a statement sent to ABC News, the disruption resulted from proactive steps taken by Staples to mitigate the impact and protect customer data. This response suggests the possibility of a ransomware attack, which often leads organizations to disconnect systems from the internet to prevent the spread of the attack.
Staples spokesperson informed that all their systems are in the process of coming back online and they expect to return to normal functionality shortly. While slight delays may occur, they anticipate shipping all orders that have been placed. Staples emphasized their quick action in response to the attack, expressing optimism that it helped avert more serious consequences. They reiterated their commitment to protecting all of their data.
Cybersecurity experts have commented on the incident, highlighting the importance of ongoing cybersecurity measures. Tamara Kirchleitner, a senior intelligence operations analyst at Centripetal, stressed that proactive cybersecurity measures are more effective and less costly than reactive ones. Rick Jones, CEO of DigitalXRAID, pointed out that retailers need to be particularly vigilant during the holiday season, a prime time for cybercriminals to exploit reduced IT support capacities. The breach at Staples serves as a wake-up call for all organizations to adapt their security measures to the constantly evolving threat landscape.
Source: Infosecurity Magazine
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