Dole Confirms Hackers Took Employee Data in Ransomware Attack

Food production giant Dole has confirmed hackers stole employee data from its servers following a ransomware attack in February.

Last month, a cyberattack caused Dole to temporarily shut down some factories in North America, halting sales at some grocery stores.

Dole's statement at the time didn’t say who the perps were, whether any sensitive data was stolen from its IT infrastructure, or if the attackers had made any ransom demand.

A regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, however, reveals that the intrusion resulted in the theft of information about its employees.

From Dole’s Form-20 filed with the SEC this week (emphasis ours):

Cybersecurity incidents may result in unauthorized access to intellectual property, trade secrets or confidential business information that are stored in electronic formats. We have in the past experienced, and may in the future face, cybersecurity incidents. In February of 2023, we were the victim of a sophisticated ransomware attack involving unauthorized access to employee information. Upon detecting the attack, we promptly took steps to contain the attack, retained the services of leading third-party cybersecurity experts and notified law enforcement. The February 2023 attack had a limited impact on our operations.

Dole, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, has more than 38,000 full-time and seasonal employees who supply around 300 types of products in 75 countries.

The company falls short of mentioning what actual data the hackers took. If this ransomware incident is like most others, it’s highly likely that the criminals will offer the stolen data for sale on hacking forums – if their demands are not met.