Cyber-attack hits the iconic Duvel Moortgat

In the middle of the night, specifically around 1.30am on Tuesday 5 March, the Duvel Moortgat brewery was the victim of a sophisticated cyber attack. The company's cybersecurity department promptly detected the incursion, implementing emergency procedures that led to the temporary suspension of production activities at its plants in Belgium and the USA. According to Ellen Aerts, spokeswoman for Duvel Moortgat, the internal alarm systems allowed rapid identification of the problem, ensuring timely management.

A cautious but optimistic restart

Since then, the company has made significant progress in containing the situation, managing to resume production operations at its Puurs-Sint-Amands plant in Belgium. “Despite the disruption, our beer stock is sufficient to meet consumer demand,” Aerts reassured. The company's IT team continues to work tirelessly to completely contain the attack and prevent future ones, with the promise of a return to normal production in the shortest possible time.

Stormous claims responsibility for the attack on Duvel Moortgat

The hacker group behind this audacious attack turns out to be Stormous, known for its ransomware actions. These cybercriminals have cornered Duvel, threatening to cripple the company's IT infrastructure and leak approximately 88 gigabytes of sensitive information unless a ransom is paid by March 25. How Duvel Moortgat responded to these extortionate demands remains undisclosed at this time.

The importance of cybersecurity for businesses

This unpleasant event underlined, according to the expert Omar El Hamdani, CEO of Sicuranext, how critical the adoption of advanced cybersecurity policies is for companies of all sizes, with a particular focus on SMEs in Italy. Implementing these measures not only serves to ward off cyber attacks, but also ensures the continuity of business operations, which is fundamental for resilience and prosperity in a global and highly digitalized market.