Aurubis, Europe’s biggest copper producer, was hit by a cyberattack overnight that prompted a preventative shutdown of its IT systems.
The scope of the attack is being investigated and the company’s internal systems are being examined, Aurubis said on Friday, without giving more details. The company’s shares fell as much as 4.2%.
Industrial companies around the world are facing a rising threat from cyberattacks that can wreak havoc on production and supply lines. In 2019, European aluminum producer Norsk Hydro was forced to run its operations manually while it scrambled to recover from a ransomware attack, while a 2017 attack on pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. caused $1.3-billion in losses.