"Remain vigilant": RPC warns businesses in wake of KP Snacks cyber attack

Business large and small have been warned to remain vigilant to cybercrime after British snack company KP Snacks confirmed it had fallen victim to a ransomware attack which disrupted its food production and distribution.

RPC Partner Richard Breavington, head of the cyber and tech insurance team, says: "The attack on KP Snacks has shown that even the largest of organisations can fall victim to ransomware attacks and all businesses – large or small – must remain vigilant to this threat.

"Latest figures show that retail, banking and utilities are the three largest industries targeted by ransomware attacks, but really any company from any sector can fall victim.

"Precautions can include ensuring they have specialist insurance covering cyber,  a robust cybersecurity plan in place, and are primed to deal with any consequential regulatory investigations in the event of such attacks.  

"Unsurprisingly, we are also seeing a spike in cyber-breach following claims between companies that have suffered an attack and their IT providers and it's definitely also worth reviewing your IT contracts to ensure appropriate protections are in place.

"KP Snacks is no doubt well-placed to recover from this incident, but other smaller companies might not fare so well without the right protection."