John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 12.31.2022 00:Dec AM EST

Ransomware Attack Forces Canadian Mining Firm To Shut Down Mill

A Canadian mining firm may be greeting 2023 with an issue from 2022.

The Canadian Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (CMMC) in British Columbia recently revealed it has shut down its mill following a ransomware attack earlier this week.

The company is doing its best to return to normal operations as soon as possible, though it didn't mention when it can be expected to happen.

CMMC Ransomware Attack Details

the CMMC mentioned in a statement that it became the target of a ransomware attack late on Dec. 27 but was able to implement its risk management systems and protocols to contain it.

As a result, the company has since isolated operations, switched to manual processes where possible.

However, this decision almos means that the CMMC is forced to shut down its British Columbia mill as a preventative mesasure to determine the effect of its response on its control system.

Fortunately, the ransomware attack and CMMC's response did not compromise the company's safety measures or cause any kind of environmental damage, per Bleeping Computer.

Furthermore, the CMMC is also conducting its own investigation with relevant authorities regarding the source of the attack.

Mining.com mentioned in its report that the company has yet to disclose any computer systems held hostage by the cybercriminal responsible for the attack and its identity. There is no word about the amount of ransom money they are looking to get, either.

However, Bleeping Computer, with the help of cyber-intelligence form KELA, discovered that a hacker offered to sell account credentials belonging to a CMMC employee on a hacker marketplace on Dec. 13, 2022.

As such, it is possible that the cybercriminal responsible for the ransomware attack used these credentals to get their ransomware in to the company's systems.

Regardless, CMMC's external and internal IT teams are still working on risk assessment and are actively establishing additional safeguards to mitigate any further risk the ransomware has to the company.

Effects Of The Ransomware Attack On CMMC

While the company mentioned that its main priority is to return to normal operation as soon as possible while limiting the attack's financial impact, it has yet to give a definite or estimate date of when it can do so.

As such, it can be speculated that the company will enter 2023 with this issue in mind if it is unable to return to normal operations soon.

This is evidenced by the price drop in the company's shares, with it dropping 5.5% on the morning of Dec. 30 in Toronto to $1.27 each within a 52-week range of $0.91 and $3.23, putting the company's value at $266.7 million.

Whether this drop in the company's shares will affect its plans in the immediate future is unknown. It has plans to expand its British Columbia mill to 65,000 tonnes per day from its current 45,000 toness, as well as increasing its average annual production to 138 bilion pounds of copper equivalent.