Picanol’s shares were suspended on Tuesday morning on the Brussels Stock Exchange in expectation of the publication of a press release, the financial markets regulator (FSMA) announced.
Picanol, which specialises in the manufacture of looms, is situated in the city of Ypres in the West Flanders province. On Tuesday, it consulted the Federal Computer Crime Unit (FCCU) of the federal police regarding the cyber attack to which it fell victim on Monday morning.
Picanol was targeted by 'ransomware' that halted its production in Ypres but also affected its Chinese and Romanian sites. As a result of the computer attack, the company no longer has access to its own systems and the bulk of its computerised production has since been interrupted, the pirates demanding a ransom before making the system accessible again. Picanol has in any case not given in to their demands.
About 1,500 people employed in Ypres were put on leave for technical reasons
The Brussels Times
