Nucor resumes operations following incident, confirms minor data leak
Nucor, a leading U.S. steel manufacturer based in Charlotte, N.C., has successfully restored operations following a cyberattack in May. The company has not disclosed any specific details about the facilities affected by the hack.
The incident, which was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, did not significantly affect Nucor's overall operations or financial performance. As a precaution, the company temporarily took its systems offline during the response process.
Nucor has worked with external forensic experts to investigate and recover from the attack. The company believes it has evicted the hackers from its systems. The hack compromised a limited amount of information at Nucor.
Despite the cyberattack, Nucor expects to report earnings of between $2.55 and $2.65 per share in the second fiscal quarter, which ends July 5. The biggest rise in earnings is expected in the steel-mills business due to higher average selling prices across its sheet and plate mills. The company expects earnings to increase across all three of its operating segments.
Nucor announced this information last week. The company expects to report earnings on July 28 and hold a conference call the following day.
In response to the cyberattack, Nucor has implemented several key measures to prevent future attacks. These measures include hardening systems, applying security patches promptly, using multi-factor authentication (MFA), and improving backup protocols. While direct specifics about Nucor's internal changes post-attack are not reported, these are standard measures suggested in the cybersecurity community for organizations recovering from ransomware events.
Organizations like Nucor should also harden and properly configure all applications, databases, servers, and network devices, maintain regular, offline, or segregated backups, use strong, unique passwords and MFA, stay vigilant against phishing and social engineering attacks, and keep all antivirus, operating systems, and applications up to date with the latest security patches.
Despite the cyberattack, Nucor continues to produce approximately a quarter of America's raw steel. The company has been working diligently to reinforce its IT systems to prevent a future attack.
- Nucor, in its efforts to reinforce IT systems and prevent future cyberattacks, has implemented measures such as hardening systems, promptly applying security patches, using multi-factor authentication (MFA), and improving backup protocols.
- Since reporting the cyberattack, Nucor has announced its intention to continue investing in cybersecurity to ensure the financial stability and business growth of the company in the technology-driven world.
- As a precautionary measure against cyber threats, organizations, especially in the finance and business sectors, should adhere to cybersecurity best practices, regularly updating software, securing databases, and training employees to recognize and avoid phishing and social engineering attacks.
