Food Giant Dole Says It Was Hit With Ransomware Attack

Dole Pre-Packaged salad sits on the shelf at a Bell Market grocery store June 19, 2003 in San Francisco, California. Getty Images/Justin Sullivan

Food processing giant Dole Food Company confirmed this week it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident that has been identified as ransomware,” according to a news release.

“Upon learning of this incident, Dole moved quickly to contain the threat and engaged leading third-party cybersecurity experts, who have been working in partnership with Dole’s internal teams to remediate the issue and secure systems,” the release, dated Feb. 22, stated.

Dole said that the ransomware attack had a “limited” impact on his operations, though it is “continuing to investigate the scope of the incident.” It also informed law enforcement about the security breach.

However, a purported internal Dole memo that was posted online said that the attack “shut down our systems throughout North America.” CNN reported that the memo, dated Feb. 10, was issued by Emanuel Lazopoulos, senior vice president at Dole’s Fresh Vegetables division.

“Our plants are shut down for the day and all our shipments are on hold,” the internal memo also said. “Please bear with us as we navigate our way and hopefully we will minimize this event.”

The Epoch Times has not confirmed the authenticity of the memo. A spokesperson for Dole has not returned a request for comment.

Dole, which has headquarters in Ireland, has four processing plants in the United States and employs more than 3,000 workers, according to a recent release from the company.

The operators of at least two grocery stores said they were not able to obtain Dole products in recent days, although it’s not clear how widespread the shortage of Dole products is. Jeff Russell, an assistant manager of the Clayton Ranch Market, in the small town of Clayton, New Mexico, told CNN that his store has been short of salad kits in recent days.

Ransomware Incidents

Ransomware is a malicious form of software that prevents users from accessing their networks, file systems, or their computers until they pay a ransom. In recent years, cybercriminals have been able to obtain millions of dollars in ransom payments by targeting businesses, including companies that operate critical infrastructure.

A Colonial Pipeline station is seen in Smyrna, Ga., on May 11, 2021. Mike Stewart/AP Photo

In one high-profile incident in 2021, cybercriminals forced the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline’s operations in a ransomware attack. Reports indicated that the operator of the pipeline, which spans the breadth of the United States, paid some $4.4 million in bitcoin to the malign actors to get their systems back online.

A May 2021 ransomware incident forced JBS, the world’s largest supplier of meat, to shut down factories in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The firm said it paid the $11 million ransom to unlock its networks and systems.

But ransomware isn’t the only crime that is impacting the U.S. food sector. The FBI and other agencies said that criminals have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of food products in recent weeks and months.

Two months ago, the Food and Drug Administration, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a notice (pdf) to businesses to remain vigilant for email compromise attacks that can be used to “steal large shipments of food products.”

“In cases like this criminals spoof emails and domains to impersonate employees of legitimate companies to order food products,” the notice said. “The victim company fulfills the order and ships the goods, but the criminals do not pay for the products. Criminals may repackage stolen products for individual sale without regard for food safety regulations and sanitation practices, risking contamination or omitting necessary information about ingredients, allergens, or expiration dates. Counterfeit goods of lesser quality can damage a company’s reputation.”