Crown Equipment Corporation, the world’s fourth largest forklift manufacturer, has resumed global manufacturing after a cyberattack that took nearly all of its systems offline for several weeks.

Crown says all its manufacturing plants are back in operation

Crown says its 24 global manufacturing plants were back in operation after being suspended on June 10. 

“The company’s retail sales and service operations and its office functions, which had continued to operate while production was paused, have also returned to normal operations,” the company says in a statement.

Privately-held Crown made no public statement about the cyberattack for nine days. It finally confirmed it had been under attack from “an international cybercriminal organisation” on June 19. 

During the company’s silence, stood-down employees took to social media to vent their frustration and fears over what might be happening to the company. 

“Due to the security measures we had in place, the quick action of our IT staff, and the support provided by some of the world’s leading cybersecurity experts, we were able to quickly contain and address the issue,” says Crown senior vice president John Tate. 

“Our team has accelerated the recovery process and is now focused on minimizing the attack’s effects on our employees, customers and suppliers.” 

Crown says the company is continuing to work with federal law enforcement to further investigate the matter.

It also says it will continue to evolve its cybersecurity program, applying the knowledge gained from this experience to further enhance prevention and mitigation efforts. 

Crown officials thanked employees, customers and suppliers for their patience as the company worked to resolve the issue and resume normal operations.

A Crown spokesperson said no further comment would be made on the incident.

Crown, founded in 1945, employs 19,600 people globally and has more than 500 retail locations in 80 countries.