On the night of October 7th, all went wrong at VDL. The concern became the target of an organization-wide cyber attack. Production at several VDL companies was abruptly halted. Weeks later, the situation seems largely unchanged. Chip manufacturer ASML and technology company Philips announce that they too are affected by the hack.
105 companies, including offices in Asia and America, are part of VDL’s concern. Each company was hit by an attack that took place at the beginning of October. VDL Nedcar, a Dutch company that produces vehicles on behalf of BMW, got back onto its feet in the days following the attack. Elsewhere, problems seem to persist, as confirmed by Philips and ASML this week.
Long-lasting effects
The impact on ASML came to light earlier this week. During a presentation of its quarterly figures, a spokesperson announced that the attack on VDL — one of the organizations’ suppliers — plays a part in the global material shortage that ASML is suffering from. Deliveries are delayed. A quick fix seems out of sight, as VDL is giving little to nothing away about the severity, cause and consequences of the leak.
“Philips is also affected by it”, says Philips CEO Frans van Houten (source: ed.nl, a publication based in the same city as VDL’s headquarters). “Meanwhile, I know they work very hard at VDL. They are able to keep many processes going manually, even if that means delivery documentation will have to come later.”
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