Swiss watchmaker Swatch shuts down IT systems in response to a cyberattack

The Swiss watchmaker giant Swatch Group shut down its systems over the weekend because it was the victim of a cyber attack

Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group shut down its IT systems in response to a cyber attack that hit its infrastructure over the weekend. The company turned off its systems to avoid other systems on its network from being infected.

The Swatch Group Ltd is a Swiss manufacturer of watches and jewellery. The company employs about 36,000 people in 50 countries, in 2019, net sales were 9.6 billion Swiss francs (CHF). The group owns the Swatch product line and other brands including Blancpain, Breguet, Glashütte Original, Harry Winston, Longines, Omega, Tissot, and RADO.

“The Swatch Group confirms that it has identified clear signs of a developing cyber attack on some of its IT systems during the weekend,” the company said in an e-mail statement to the media. “For security reasons, the Group immediately took action and shut down precautionary some of its IT systems, which affected some operations.”

The company added that it has immediately launched an investigation into the incident and took implemented the necessary countermeasures and corrections.

“The situation will return to normal as soon as possible,” Swatch added, without providing further details about the incident response procedures.

Even if Swatch Group did not share technical details about the attack, experts believe that it was likely a ransomware infection.

Recently many other multinational companies have been targeted with ransomware, including Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG), CMA CGM, Tyler Technologies, IPG Photonics, Universal Health Services, and Luxottica.

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, ransomware)