News
Retailers warn of crisps and peanuts shortage due to cyber attack
A spokesperson for KP Snacks confirmed the ransomware attack took place on Friday 28 January.
Emily Sergeant -
4th February 2022 
Retailers are warning that there may be a shortage of some of the most popular crisp and nuts brands over the coming months.
Skips, Nik Naks, Hula Hoops, McCoy’s crisps, and KP Nuts are a staple in shops and supermarkets up and down the country, and are undeniably some of the most well-loved snacks from the British company KP.
But sadly, it soon may be a lot harder to find these favourites stocked on shelves.
It’s due to a ransomware attack targeted at KP Snacks, which a spokesperson for the company confirmed took place on Friday 28 January.
According to messages sent to local shops – and published by industry news outlet Better Retailing this week – deliveries could face delays and cancellations up until “the end of March at the earliest”, and KP Snacks said it was going to limit the size of orders to retailers so it could “manage what stock we do have”.
“At this stage, we cannot safely process orders or dispatch goods,” KP Snacks explains.
The hackers are threatening to release information stolen from the company’s IT systems in order to extort it into making a payment to decrypt its files and get its business running again.
Revealing a little more about the ongoing situation in a statement released to Sky News, KP Snacks said: “As soon as we became aware of the incident, we enacted our cybersecurity response plan and engaged a leading forensic information technology firm and legal counsel to assist us in our investigation.
“Our internal IT teams continue to work with third-party experts to assess the situation.
“We have been continuing to keep our colleagues, customers, and suppliers informed of any developments and apologise for any disruption this may have caused.”
Featured Image – KP Snacks
