In a dramatic blow to its operations, Blue Yonder, a powerhouse in supply chain technology, was struck by a devastating ransomware attack on November 21, 2024. The attack sent shockwaves through its managed services-hosted environment, halting critical systems and throwing the company into crisis mode. Customers like Morrisons and Sainsbury’s in the UK confirmed they saw impacts. Other customers of Blue Yonder include the other major supermarket chains Asda, Tesco, Waitrose, and Starbucks. Around 11,000 Starbucks stores in North America were impacted, and store managers were forced to resort to analogue processes after their internal systems for employee management and work-hour tracking went down.
Within just a few hours, Blue Yonder detected the breach and sprang into action with defensive measures in place, getting a top-notch cybersecurity firm on board to help recover from the effects of the invasion.
James McQuiggan, Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4, offers insight into the critical nature of such incidents. The ripple effects of the Blue Yonder cyber attack emphasized the need for users to prioritize third-party management in their risk frameworks.
The company is still busy working to recover its systems even further and limit the effects of this cyber onslaught. The latest update from a Blue Yonder spokesperson stated, “We are making good progress. Several of our impacted customers have been brought back online, and we are actively working directly with others to return them to normal business operations.”
Data from Sophos shows that 45% of retail organizations were hit by ransomware in 2024 due to exploited vulnerabilities.
Peter Mackenzie, Director, Incident response at Sophos, commented, “Supply chain attacks pose a growing threat to organizations, applying significant pressure on the customers who rely on these vendors.”
As more and more companies from across the globe are confronting increasing threats from cyber criminals, they must act fast and prepare their systems to handle such breaches before gross damages can occur. In other words, enhanced security measures, a plan to respond to these types of incidents, and regular testing of systems for breach-handling capabilities are essential to be ready for such possible attacks. These actions lessen the pound of an attacker on the business and result in recovery more quickly while protecting both data and reputation.
