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Hackers are now going after our doughnuts. Krispy Kreme confirms it was hit by a cyberattack that disrupted access to its online ordering system.
In a Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Krispy Kreme said it detected unauthorized activity on a "portion of its information technology systems" on Nov. 29. Although the doughnut vendor promptly launched an investigation, it’s been working to restore its online ordering system due to the cyber incident.
“Krispy Kreme shops globally are open, and consumers are able to place orders in person, but the company is experiencing certain operational disruptions, including with online ordering in parts of the United States. Daily fresh deliveries to our retail and restaurant partners are uninterrupted,” the company said in the filing.
Krispy Kreme also updated its website to alert consumers about the online disruptions. “We’ll have our online ordering up as soon as we can. Our fresh doughnuts are available in our shops as always!” the message says.
The company didn’t provide a timeline for when the online ordering system would be fully restored. But Krispy Kreme warns the disruption will likely have a "material impact," meaning it’ll negatively impact the business. The company is signaling it’ll lose some revenue from online orders and need to pay cybersecurity-related fees to handle the breach.
Krispy Kreme didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. So it’s unclear if the attack is a ransomware infection, which can encrypt entire fleets of computers before demanding the victim pay to free the machines. However, security researcher Kevin Beaumont suspects a ransomware gang may be involved.
“I have been tracking a ransomware group which I believe gained access to them in that timeframe,” he said in a post on Mastodon without elaborating. In many ransomware incidents, the hackers will also steal the company's data, including customer information, and threaten to leak it unless their demands are met.