Aurubis AG, Europe's largest copper producer, recently disclosed a production-impacting cyberattack. As a preventative measure, the company had to shut down its IT systems and disconnect from the Internet.
Aurubis Discloses Recent Cyberattack that Affected Production
On Friday, Oct. 28, the chief of legal affairs for the company disclosed that Aurubis' IT systems are currently being examined in light of the most recent cyber intrusion. The copper producer has not yet disclosed the full extent of the incident.
According to Bloomberg, industrial companies worldwide are facing an increasing threat from cyberattacks that can disrupt production and supply lines.
For instance, Norsk Hydro ASA, a European aluminum producer, was forced to run its operations manually while recovering from a ransomware attack in 2019. In 2017, an attack on pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. resulted in a $1.3 billion loss.
Tata Power, the largest power generation company in India, announced on October 14 that it had recently been the target of a cyberattack. Cybercriminals targeted the organization's information technology (IT) infrastructure.
According to Yahoo, Germany's cybersecurity agency BSI warned earlier this week that cyber risks were at an all-time high, with high levels of cybercrime and risks related to the Ukraine war. The agency also stated that no overarching attack campaign against German targets appeared to exist.
A massive cyber attack hit Europe in March, causing an internet outage across the region. On March 4, approximately 5,800 wind turbines with a total output of 11 gigawatts went offline during the incident, causing a significant internet outage.
More About Aurubis AG
Aurubis AG is a non-ferrous metals producer and distributor. The company is the largest copper recycler in the world, processing complex metal concentrates, scrap metals, and metal-bearing recycling materials into metals.
As per GlobalData, the company manufactures copper cathodes as well as a wide range of copper and copper alloy products, such as wire rods, shapes, rolled products, strips, and specialty wire. Gold, sulfuric acid, iron silicate, silver, lead, tin, nickel, minor metals such as tellurium and selenium, and platinum group metals are also part of its line of products.
The Hamburg-based firm currently employs 7,163 people. Meanwhile, it has declared revenue of $18.6 billion for 2021. According to reports, the company's stock dropped by 4.2% following the hacking incident.
It is also important to note that the German company has begun decarbonizing production to reduce harmful emissions from its operations. Aurubis is currently testing using blue ammonia as a fuel in industrial settings, which is a significant step toward achieving climate neutrality.
According to a news release from October, the multi-metal company already runs the world's most effective and environmentally friendly smelter network.
"We want to produce in a climate-neutral manner - well before 2050. Ammonia can be an important component in the hydrogen supply chain in order to achieve this goal," said Aurubis CEO Roland Harings.
