Ransomware attack at Alabama manufacturing plants send hundreds of employees home with no specified date of return
Published 5:51 am Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Hundreds of employees at two Alabama manufacturing plants were sent home without any specified date of return after the company was reportedly hit with a ransomware attack over the weekend.
The Alexander City Outlook reports that the attack at Madix, Inc., a manufacturer of store fixtures with plants in Goodwater and Eclectic, has reportedly disabled its computers and halted production, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Employees in Goodwater and Eclectic were sent home Monday with no specified date of return as the company works to resolve the cybersecurity breach.
Ransomware is malicious software that threatens to release information or block access to a computer system until a ransom is paid. The Outlook does not know the sum of ransom demanded.
Madix, headquartered in Terrell, Texas, is one of the top 10 largest employers in Tallapoosa and Coosa counties with over 300 employees at its Goodwater plant, according to data from the Lake Martin Area Economic Development Alliance. The company produces shelving for retailers including Walmart and Publix.
As of Monday, Madix’s website had a “403 Forbidden” error code, which is when a web server has forbidden access to the site.