The French metals recycling group Derichebourg was the victim of a cyberattack earlier this month and is still dealing with the resulting operational problems. According to German subsidiary Derichebourg Umwelt, the attack targeted the company's server infrastructure, and both its technical systems and those of parent company Derichebourg S.A. remain largely out of operation more than a week after this initial incident. At present it was only possible to reach the company's German offices by telephone or fax. In a statement issued on 13 November, shortly after the attack, the Paris-based parent group spoke of a temporary "slowing" of certain activities.
The group said that as soon as the attack was registered by early warning systems, it had taken measures to limit the scope of the damage and to improve the security of its system. External IT experts had been called in to assist. The group's "Multiservices" division was also affected by the attack. Derichebourg Umwelt noted that the authorities in both Germany and France had been notified and technical investigations were underway.
Together with its IT team, Derichebourg intends to regain full operational capability as quickly as possible. However, it was expected that this work will take a few more days. With its IT system still disabled, Derichebourg Umwelt said that it had not been possible to issue payments on the 20th of the month as usual. "We hope to be able to meet our payment obligations by the 'realistic target date' of 30 November," said the German subsidiary.
