Dole plc, one of the world's largest producers of fruit and vegetables, announced late Wednesday that it had suffered a ransomware attack. The incident forced the company to temporarily shut down its production plants in North America and halt shipments to grocery stores.

"Upon learning of this incident, Dole moved quickly to contain the threat and engaged leading third-party cybersecurity experts, who have been working in partnership with Dole’s internal teams to remediate the issue and secure systems," Dole stated on its website. The company added that it has notified law enforcement about the incident and is cooperating with their investigation.

This confirmation followed a CNN report that the company experienced a cyberattack that significantly affected its operations.

Emanuel Lazopoulos, senior vice president at Dole's Fresh Vegetables division, sent the following memo to retailers (via BleepingComputer):


The hack, which was previously unreported, resulted in some grocery shoppers complaining on social media that some stores were not carrying Dole prepackaged salad kits. CNN interviewed managers from stores in New Mexico and Texas who said that they were unable to stock Dole products due to the attack. "They [customers] are upset, but it happens," said a produce manager of Clayton Ranch Market in Clayton, New Mexico. "We can’t do nothing about it except [put in the orders]."

As of this writing, it is not yet known how Dole fell victim to the ransomware attack. Nonetheless, to protect your PCs from such attacks, do not open links or attachments from unsolicited emails because they could contain malware. Keep your antivirus software updated, and always backup your files on an external storage system like a flash drive, hard drive, or the cloud.