Due to a cyber attack on its IT system, the only newsprint mill in Switzerland had to stop production on Friday. At the earliest, it could be put back into operation at the beginning of next week, they say. Delivery bottlenecks are to be expected.
For the moment, the Perlen paper mill has to fall back on supplies.
Newsprint has not been produced in Switzerland since Friday morning. On Friday night, the IT systems of the CPH industrial group fell victim to a cyber attack. The gateway was the Perlen paper factory, the only production facility in Switzerland that still produces newsprint. According to a media spokesman, production cannot resume until the beginning of next week at the earliest.
At least three days of interruption
When the external attack was discovered, all IT systems of the CPH group were shut down immediately and in a controlled manner, one says Company’s ad hoc announcement. While activities in the Chemicals division were resumed during the day, the paper machines in Perlen and the packaging machines in Müllheim (TG) remained out of operation.
Because the machines will not run over the weekend either, this means that production will be interrupted for at least three days. The huge paper machines usually run around the clock. It must therefore be expected that there will again be delivery bottlenecks in Switzerland. Around 80 percent of the 500,000 tons produced annually in Perlen go abroad.
However, Perlen is the most important supplier for local printing companies. The purchasing group of the four largest Swiss publishers (Tamedia, Ringier, NZZ, CH-Media) procures around 100,000 tonnes or around 45 percent of their needs from pearls every year. Uninterrupted delivery is systemically relevant for you.
Fragile supply chain
How drastic even a production interruption of a few days can be was impressively demonstrated last October: After a fire in the waste paper store, production in Perlen was down for three days. As a result, around 4,000 tons were missing. The lack of paper meant that the newspaper publishers had to reduce their volumes for a few weeks, even though they were given preferential delivery. The foreign customers of Perlen suffered the big losses. The tense supply situation in Europe also prevents other suppliers from being used quickly.
Because the entire IT of the group is affected – Perlen could not be reached by phone or via Voice-over-IP on Friday – the delivery of the quantities already produced is also stalling. The size of the camps in question was not stated. As a rule, they are low, and for financial reasons they are also kept as small as possible at the printing works. The supply chain quickly comes to a standstill if supplies are interrupted.
Revision brought forward
Those in charge of the paper mill make the most of the predicament. You have brought the annual revision forward to this weekend. In the meantime, the company is working flat out to bring its systems back into operation step by step. According to the company, there is an emergency plan for such cyber attacks. External cyber experts would support the company.
The incident was reported to the Reporting and Analysis Center for Information Assurance (Melani), says the media spokesman. Further details are not given. Or whether it was a ransomware attack. In these cases, the attackers demand a ransom from the victims to unblock the IT systems.