Reckitt Benckiser Says Petya Attack Will Cost It

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, the consumer goods company, said Thursday (July 6) the Petya cyberattack in June is likely to cost it 2 percent of sales in the second quarter.

According to a Bloomberg News report, the company said some of the loss from the cyberattack won’t ever be recovered. At the time Petya hit, the consumer goods company was in the process of improving its cybersecurity systems. Because the attack was particularly malicious, lots of other multinationals suffered costly consequences.

For Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, it is in a good position since it has considerable finances to handle cybercrime. The report pointed to the fact that it spent $18 billion in cash in its latest purchase of Mead Johnson Nutrition.

The report noted that an internal inquiry into what happened with the cyberattack is still going on and that it’s not clear if the company was exposed due to an employee breach of internal protocols or the systems were vulnerable to this type of cybercrime.

Reckitt said the attack disrupted its manufacturing and distribution in multiple markets, which resulted in failed shipments to customers. The costs should be manageable to the company, noted Bloomberg, pointing to the fact that based on last year’s second quarter results, the hit should be around £45 million before adjusting for any benefit from sterling’s devaluation. Reckitt is indicating that the hit to full year sales could be more, however. There is also the cost in terms of cybersecurity defenses in order to fix whatever happened to make the company vulnerable.

Late last month, reports surfaced of a “massive cyberattack” originating in Europe and quickly spreading to major corporations across the globe. According to Bloomberg reports on June 27, the attack was similar to WannaCry, first targeting Russia and the Ukraine, where more than 80 businesses were affected. The attack saw a ransom of $300 in cryptocurrency demanded from corporates to unlock their computers.