Shares in Weir Group have fallen 3 per cent after the engineering group revealed last night it had been the target of a ‘sophisticated’ cyber-attack last month.
The FTSE 250 company, which specialises in servicing the mining sector, said last night that it had been hit by a ransomware attack.
This is a type of computer software which infiltrates a business’s IT network, and threatens to steal or destroy all its private information unless it is paid.
Weir Group – which specialises in mining – said last night that it had been hit by a ransomware attack
Weir shares fell more than 6 per cent shortly after the open, but cut back some losses to trade down 54.2p or 3.3 per cent to £15.94 by mid-morning.
Weir said it ‘responded quickly to the threat and took robust action’, including bringing in external consultants, and that ‘there is no evidence that any personal or other sensitive data has been exfiltrated or encrypted’.
The attack occurred towards the end of September.
It had to shut down its IT systems, and some of its applications are yet to be brought back online.
The overall impact will bring projected profits down from £270million to between £230million and £245million, Weir said.