Today we are taking a look back at a cyber attack that happened to a local brewery in 2019. Waterloo Brewing Ltd. announced a loss of $2.1 million due to a cyberattack it describes as a social engineering scheme. The attack took place in early November of 2019 and involved the impersonation of a creditor employee and fraudulent wire transfer requests. Upon learning of the incident, the brewery conducted a thorough review of all transactions, computer networks, and internal systems to ensure security.
The company stated that no breach of its systems occurred and that customer information is not at risk. Waterloo Brewing has reported the attack to the relevant authorities, including law enforcement, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, and the United States’ Finance Crimes and Enforcement Network.
The company says it is working to recover the money, but made no assurance that it would be successful.
After the cyberattack, Waterloo Brewing conducted a comprehensive review of its internal systems and controls, including its computer networks. The results of the investigation showed that the company’s network was not breached at any point.
In the face of ever-evolving and advanced cybersecurity threats, Waterloo Brewing is dedicated to using all available resources to safeguard its operations, customers, employees, and business information. The company will continue to make investments in its information technology infrastructure, security measures, controls, and training programs to minimize the risk of unauthorized activities and security threats.
On July 30th, 2021 Waterloo Brewing announced that it has reached a settlement with the creditor affected by the previously reported social engineering cyberattack that took place in November 2019. Under the terms of the settlement, the company has agreed to pay the creditor $1,163,600, which is half of the original amount owed to the creditor and half of the insurance claim for the incident. The company had previously recorded a loss of $1,869,595 related to the misappropriation of funds resulting from the cyberattack. As a result of the settlement, the company is expected to record a gain of approximately $900,000 in the second quarter of fiscal 2022.
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