Key Takeaways
- Crown Equipment Corporation, a major forklift manufacturer, faces a suspected cyberattack and global IT outage.
- Production plants have been shut down, and employees report unpaid due to IT issues.
- While the company remains tight-lipped, employees and online discussions suggest a potential ransomware attack.
- The lack of official communication has fueled speculation and criticism of Crown’s incident handling.
- The situation highlights the importance of cybersecurity preparedness and transparent communication during data breaches or cyberattacks.According to reports, Crown Equipment Corporation, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of forklift trucks and industrial equipment, has been the victim of a suspected cyberattack. The incident has resulted in a global IT outage, forcing the company to shut down production plants worldwide and leaving employees without access to critical systems.
About Crown Equipment CorporationCrown Equipment Corporation, headquartered in New Bremen, Ohio, United States, is the fifth-largest manufacturer of forklift trucks, industrial trucks, and high-rack conveyors globally. The company has regional headquarters in Australia, China, Germany, and Singapore, with its European headquarters located in Feldkirchen near Munich, Germany. Crown also operates a production facility in Roding, Bavaria, Germany.
Worldwide IT Systems Down and Production HaltedSince Monday, June 10, 2024, production at Crown’s sites in Roding, Germany, has been at a standstill due to a reported IT system outage.
The company’s websites (crown.com) are inaccessible, with attempts to visit resulting in an error message stating “crown.com is temporarily unavailable.” Additionally, the company’s phone lines appear to be down, making it challenging to reach them.
Suspicions of a Cyberattack and Ransomware InvolvementWhile Crown Equipment Corporation’s management remains tight-lipped about the situation, reports from employees and online discussions suggest a potential cyberattack, possibly involving ransomware. Employees have taken to social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit to express their frustrations, claiming they have not been paid due to the IT issues
One Twitter user, allegedly a Crown employee, stated, “thanks for letting your servers be hacked and not paying your employees. It’s not like we have bills or anything. I thought I worked for a better company.” Another tweet from a purported employee read, “Hey Jon, I work for Crown Equipment, a billion-dollar company with 19,000 plus employees. We were hit with a cyberattack and are currently not working. Now they tell us no pay! This after bragging about being an employee-first company, have to love corporate America.”
A Reddit thread was started to discuss the hack:https://www.reddit.com/r/LinusTechTips/comments/1denozy/crown_lift_trucks_experiencing_phishing_hack/
Lack of Official Communication and SpeculationCrown Equipment Corporation has yet to release an official statement regarding the nature of the incident or the extent of the impact. This lack of communication has fueled speculation and rumors within the cybersecurity community and among employees.
Reports indicate that the company has advised employees not to clear data from their tablets and has implemented additional security measures, such as reducing the timeout function for multi-factor authentication (MFA) and restricting access to Office 365 applications like email, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive to company devices only.
Handling of the Incident CriticizedThe way Crown Equipment Corporation has handled this incident has drawn criticism from cybersecurity experts and observers. The lack of transparency and clear communication has left customers and employees in the dark, leading to widespread speculation and concerns about the potential data breach and its implications.
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