Status: 06/28/2022 11:05 a.m
The IT systems of Apetito AG, a large food supplier for retirement homes, schools and daycare centers, have been paralyzed by a cyber attack. It is still unclear how massive the consequences for the supply of the facilities are.
The kitchen in many schools, kindergartens, but also retirement homes or companies in Germany could stay cold today. Apetito, a supplier of ready meals from Rheine, has fallen victim to a hacker attack.
Substitute menus for seniors
According to a statement on the company’s website, there is currently no access to the IT-supported systems “because our servers were attacked”. Orders are therefore currently not possible. According to the announcement, Apetito primarily wants to ensure the supply of retirement homes, clinics and senior citizens who have their daily menus delivered to their homes by the company. For this one wants to provide replacement menus.
Apetito did not provide any information as to when the company would be available and the ordering functions would be available again. Customers could contact the responsible sales representatives. According to the industry portal “Lebensmittelpraxis”, police investigative authorities are also involved in the investigation of the IT problems.
A thriving business makes you vulnerable
Apetito generated sales of more than one billion euros last year with its food deliveries. Almost 12,000 employees produce the menus and deliver them to the customers. The company also supplies frozen meals to retailers. Apetito AG also has subsidiaries in the Netherlands, Great Britain and Canada.
In recent years, the Group has benefited from several developments such as the Corona crisis and the aging of society in Germany. The company is therefore likely to have become the target of hacker attacks, in which the blockade of IT systems is usually lifted again in return for the payment of a “ransom”. In a recent study, the Allianz insurance group described cyber attacks as the greatest risk for companies in Germany.