Just in time for Halloween, a ransomware gang has targeted Ferrara Candy the
massive confectionery responsible for producing Brach’s well-known candy
corn the most OG of holiday treats.
Ferrara, which is based in Chicago, is responsible
for 85 percent of the candy corn production in the country during the
Halloween season and reportedly churns out approximately seven billion pieces
of the candy per year. When reached for comment, Ferrara confirmed that an
attack had occurred on Oct. 9 that “encrypted some of our systems.” The company
further stated that it was working together with law enforcement.
The company further stated
that it had resumed production in certain facilities and that it was “near to
capacity” when it came to shipping from all of its distribution centers across
the country. “We want to assure consumers that Ferrara’s Halloween products are
on shelves at retailers across the country ahead of the holiday,” the company
said. When you go to the grocery store and grab yourself a giant
feed-bag-sized sack of candy corn in preparation for trick-or-treaters, Brach’s
is typically the brand you’ll be walking home with. Thus, a hack on Ferrara
would appear to be nothing less than a hack on the very institution of
Halloween itself.
That’s pretty par for the course as far as this year goes a
year wherein pretty much everybody is getting hacked all the time and no institution
is so sacred that it can’t be defiled by an asshole behind a keyboard. Over the
past tannish months, ransomware gangs have repeatedly targeted large, high profile
companies in the
energy sector, the food and beverage
industry, tourism, software, insurance, and
pretty much every other field of business you can think of. I guess it was only
a matter of time before they came for the candy.
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