Hangover remains for liquor giant after cyber attack
Stuff
Bertie Burleigh, owner of New Plymouth's Peggy Gordons Celtic Bar says he urgently needs supplies following a cyber attack on liquor giant Lion this week. (file photo)
A cyber attack on an Australasian liquor giant is still causing headaches for the company, its suppliers and customers.
Lion suffered the attack on Monday, the same day New Zealand moved to coronavirus alert level 1 and a return to life without the social distancing rules which had previously prevented bars and night clubs from operating.
It forced the company to shut down its IT systems which caused disruption to its brewing operation, suppliers and customers.
The attack has compounded problems New Zealand's pubs and clubs were already facing due to the Covid-19 crisis.
New Plymouth publican Bertie Burleigh said his bar was currently operating "hand to mouth" and had only received two kegs and was still waiting on a further 20 kegs along with bottled beer, wine and spirits to replenish supplies.
"If nothing comes in the next couple of days we are going to be short of stock."
Burleigh said it was "mind boggling" how reliant the work had become on technology.
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Meanwhile, Lion NZ external relations director Sara Tucker said the company was continuing to work with cyber experts to determine how much longer it would be impacted.
"We have made good progress over the last 24 hours in terms of diagnosis and recovery planning."
There was no evidence of any data breaches so far, but every aspect of the major incident remained under investigation, she said.
Lion, which offers domestic beers like Speight's, Steinlager, Lion Red and Brown as well as international brands including Guinness, Becks, Corona Extra and Budweiser, had a good supply of product but the attack impacted crucial aspects of the brewing process, Tucker said.
"We operate multiple large-scale breweries, which are heavily reliant on IT infrastructure."
Tucker said the attack could not have come at a worse time for Lion and its customers who were in the early stages of recovery following the lockdown.
"This has been the most devastating time on record for the hospitality industry in New Zealand."
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