Swatch Group, the world’s leading watchmaker, announced yesterday that it had been the victim of a suspected ransomware attack over the weekend in which its IT systems were taken offline. Swatch stated that their security teams noticed unusual network activity, and took initiative in shutting down some systems as a precautionary measure. The shutdown affected some operations, according to the company, but it is unclear what those are.
Swatch is the parent company of other major watch sellers such as Tissot, Omega, and Longines, bringing in $2 billion in sales in the first six months of 2020. Therefore, the company’s financial wellbeing makes it an attractive target for ransomware operators, as it is likely Swatch would be able to pay ransom demands. Swatch’s security teams probably mitigated some significant risks such as the ransomware operators encrypting sensitive files or customer information due to the fact that they caught the cyberattack early on.
Read More: Swatch Group Hit by Likely Ransomware Attack
