Offshore Wind Turbine Maker Vestas Hit by Cyberattack

Offshore wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has become the latest victim of a cyberattack after its internal IT systems were targeted, shutting down part of its business operations.

The Danish company announced it is working round the clock to contain a cyber security incident that occurred on Friday, with efforts directed at assessing the situation and re-establishing its IT systems' integrity.

"At this stage, the work and investigation are still ongoing," said the company in a statement.

The company added that there is no indication the incident has impacted third-party operations, including customer and supply chain operations.

The turbine maker's manufacturing, construction, and service units remain in operation, although several operational IT systems have been shut down as a precaution. The company said it has already initiated a gradual and controlled reopening of all IT systems.

The shutdown comes as Vestas is dealing with supply-chain pandemics and working to fill an increasing number of orders. In its third-quarter financial results released early this month, Vestas said the value of its combined backlog of wind turbine orders and service agreements stood at $53.5 billion, a healthy increase of $15.1 billion compared to the same period last year. The quarterly intake of firm wind turbine orders amounted to 3,727 MW. During the period, the company generated revenue of $6.2 billion, an increase of 16 percent.

The company has repeatedly said that supply chain instability and cost inflation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has had adverse impacts on the wind power industry, a reality that has prompted the turbine maker to adjust its full year EBIT that is now expected to be around four percent from 5-7 percent previously. Vestas, which is in the process of testing the tallest and most powerful offshore wind turbine in the world, recently shut down three factories in Europe to cut down on costs.