Offshore wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has become the latest victim of a cyberattack after its internal IT systems were attacked, resulting in the shutdown of part of its business operations.
The Danish company has announced that it is working around the clock to contain the cybersecurity incident that occurred on Friday, with efforts aimed at assessing the situation and restoring the integrity of its IT systems.
“At this time, the work and investigation are still ongoing,” the company said in a statement.
The company added that there is no indication that the incident has affected third-party operations, including those of customers and the supply chain.
The turbine maker’s manufacturing, construction and service units remain operational, although several operational computer systems have been taken offline as a precautionary measure. The company said it has already initiated a gradual and controlled reopening of all IT systems.
The shutdown comes at a time when Vestas is coping with supply chain pandemics and working to meet a growing number of orders. In its third-quarter financial results released earlier this month, Vestas said the value of its combined backlog of wind turbine orders and service agreements stood at $53.5 billion, up a healthy $15.1 billion from the same period last year. Quarterly firm wind turbine order intake totaled 3,727 MW. During the period, the company generated revenues of $6.2 billion, an increase of 16%.
The company has repeatedly said that supply chain instability and cost inflation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have had a negative impact on the wind energy sector, a reality that has led the wind turbine manufacturer to adjust its EBIT for the full year, which is now expected to be around four percent, down from 5-7 percent previously. Vestas, which is testing the world’s tallest and most powerful offshore wind turbine, recently closed three factories in Europe to cut costs.
