When a leading company known for its expertise in bleach production faces security Breach, one might not immediately associate the cyberattack to a substantial service disruption. However, this is precisely the situation facing Clorox.
Clorox is widely recognized as a major provider of household cleaning essentials, including bleach and various sanitizing products. In the wake of a significant cyberattack, it has been revealed that the company may experience disruptions in its normal business operations, potentially lasting until the next month, due to the broad-reaching impact of the breach.
Last week, the company officially acknowledged the detection of unauthorized activity on their network; refraining from disclosing details about the data that might have been compromised or the duration of the suspicious activity.
With a market capitalization exceeding $17.14 billion, the company is recognized for its ownership of subsidiary brands such as Burt’s Bees, Formula 409, and Kitchen Bouquet. Since the cyberattack, the company has witnessed a decline in its stock value, with reports indicating a decrease of 2.99% as of September 20, 2023.
Clorox pulled down a list of unspecified items offline, an act of exercising caution, and a few operations and processes were impeded. This has effectively set the company back to a time reminiscent of the early stages of order processing and request handling.
In a recent letter issued by the company to SEC, the company stated:
“On Aug.14, 2023, The Clorox company (the “company” or “Clorox”) announced that it had identified unauthorized activity on some of its Information Technology (IT) systems, and took immediate steps to stop and remediate the activity, including taking certain systems offline. The Company implemented its business continuity plans and began manual ordering and processing procedures shortly thereafter at a reduced rate of operations.”
Although the company stated that they have done everything security reasonable, to contain the activity, no doubt the financial impact on the business would be visible in their quarterly financial reports, the company stated.
The company emphasized that few of their critical infrastructures were affected by the cyberattack, and the disruption caused to the organization is registered on a widescale. At the moment Clorox is working on fixing the infrastructure in other to get back to business. A return to business normality by company, should be expected by September 25th 2023.
Most of their business operations have returned to a state of normalcy, with a gradual return to full production anticipated. However, the company remains uncertain about the timeframe for achieving full operational recovery.
The extent of the business impact has not been disclosed yet, as the company is currently in the evaluation process. Additionally, there have been delays in fulfilling orders, leading to an increased shortage of their products in the market.
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