Fendt: Hackers paralyze production at tractor manufacturers
Created: 05/09/2022, 02:48 p.m
By: Thomas Schmidtutz
Fendt headquarters in Marktoberdorf: After a cyber attack, production at the tractor manufacturer came to a standstill (archive image).
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand
The tractor manufacturer Fendt has fallen victim to a serious hacker attack.
Production is at a standstill.
Thousands of employees have to stay at home.
Marktoberdorf – At the tractor manufacturer Fendt, production at the headquarters in Marktoberdorf in the Allgäu came to a standstill after a hacker attack.
According to reports, all computers now need to be checked.
Mail requests come to nothing.
The telephone lines are also dead. It is not yet clear when production can start again, a company spokeswoman told Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Recently, companies have been repeatedly attacked by hackers.
They penetrate corporate networks to extort ransom and take full control.
Only at the beginning of the month did the financial regulator Bafin warn of possible attacks by Russian cybercriminals.
So far, little is known about the concrete background at Fendt.
However, there are increasing signs that it could be an attempt at blackmail.
Fendt is owned by US giant AGCO.
The group announced on Friday that it had become the target of a cyber attack.
Several production sites are affected.
It is assumed that operations will be affected for several days, the company said without giving any further information.
Fendt: 4500 employees have to stay at home
According to Fendt, it employs around 4,300 people in Marktoberdorf.
Other plants are in Wolfenbüttel in Lower Saxony, Hohenmölsen (Saxony-Anhalt), Feucht, Asbach-Bäumenheim and Waldstetten (all in Bavaria).
In addition to Fendt, the agricultural machinery manufacturer Massey Ferguson also belongs to the group.
The group does not disclose detailed business figures for the German subsidiary.
