Coca-Cola says Fairlife attack stops US dairy output

Coca-Cola says a ransomware attack on its Fairlife dairy subsidiary has temporarily halted production of Fairlife products across the United States.

In a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said Fairlife detected unauthorized access to some of its systems, including production-related systems. Coca-Cola said it then activated its incident response and business continuity procedures.

“After detecting the issue, the Company promptly activated its incident response and business continuity protocols.”

The company said its investigation is still ongoing, with help from outside advisers and cybersecurity experts, and that it has also notified law enforcement.

Coca-Cola said product quality and safety have not been affected, but production at Fairlife’s U.S. facilities has been suspended while it restores impacted systems. Canadian production operations are not currently affected.

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Fairlife is one of Coca-Cola’s dairy brands, selling ultra-filtered milk products, protein shakes, and nutrition drinks in the U.S. Its lineup includes Ultra-Filtered Milk, Core Power Protein Shakes, and Nutrition Plan.

So far, Coca-Cola has not said whether any data was stolen, whether it has received an extortion demand, or which ransomware operation was behind the attack. No ransomware gang has claimed responsibility at the time of publication.

The company also said it has not yet determined whether the incident is reasonably likely to have a material impact on the business.

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