Electronics retail giant MediaMarkt hit by ransomware attack

Electronics retail giant MediaMarkt has suffered a ransomware attack causing IT systems to shut down and store operations to be disrupted in Netherlands and Germany.

MediaMarkt is Europe’s largest consumer electronics retailer with over 1,000 stores in 13 countries. MediaMarkt employs approximately 53,000 employees and has a total sales of €20.8 billion. 

A weekend ransomware attack

MediaMarkt suffered a weekend ransomware attack that encrypted servers and workstations and led to the shutdown of IT systems to prevent the attack’s spread.

BleepingComputer has learned that the attack has affected numerous retail stores throughout Europe, primarily those in the Netherlands.

While online sales continue to function as expected, cash registers cannot accept credit cards or print receipts at affected stores. The systems outage is also preventing returns due to the inability to lookup previous purchases.

Local media reports that internal MediaMarkt communications tell employees to avoid encrypted systems and disconnect cash registers from the network.

Screenshots posted on Twitter of alleged internal communications state that 3,100 servers were affected in this attack. However, BleepingComputer has not been able to corroborate those statements at this time.

BleepingComputer has contacted MediaMarkt with questions regarding the attack but has not heard back at this time.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/electronics-retail-giant-mediamarkt-hit-by-ransomware-attack/