Ransomware attack hits Barcelona's Damm brewery

Production at the main brewery outside Barcelona has been halted after a cyber attack that hit computer systems earlier this week.

  

The attack hit the brewery on Tuesday night and for a few hours the plant in El Prat de Llobregat, which produces 7 million hectolitres of beer a year, was "entirely paralyzed".

Unknown if a ransom was demanded of the company or if the maker of Estrella Damm lager had paid anything to the hackers behind the attack.

Damm bottles several other beer brands beside its iconic Estrella Damm and has honoured all deliveries to bars, restaurants and supermarkets thanks to existing stocks.

Last month, the Autonomous University of Barcelona was hit by a ransomware attack, while earlier this year hackers knocked out several services at Spain's employment agency.

Several high-profile cyber attacks in the past year, including the Colonial Pipeline hack, which caused panic buying of fuel across the eastern U.S. in May, have jolted governments and companies into reviewing their security policies.

A European Union report released in October found the COVID-19 pandemic and rise of home working had created opportunities for cyber-criminals to flourish and led to a proliferation of so-called hackers for hire.