Crown confirms cyberattack to employees

Having shut down production worldwide more than a week earlier, Crown Equipment Corp. has confirmed to its employees that the company was the victim of a cyberattack.

In a message to employees Tuesday afternoon, the company said it had fallen victim to a cyberattack by an “international cybercriminal organization.”

The message further stated that Crown officials had been working with the FBI to investigate and resolve the issue.

While the problem had been speculated to be a cyberattack since production was shut down on Monday, June 10, the company had apparently not confirmed this to its employees. The lack of information was attributed to trying not to give the hackers any further information.

The content of the message was shared with the Banner Graphic by a Crown employee.

Based in New Bremen, Ohio, the forklift manufacturer employs 956 workers in Greencastle across three facilities on the city’s east side.

More than Ohio and Indiana, the shutdown is apparently affecting Crown production facilities worldwide, which employ more than 19,000 people across four continents.

The company website at crown.com does not return anything other than a mostly white screen with a gray Crown logo and the words “crown.com is temporarily unavailable. Please bookmark us or add us to your favorites and return soon.”

Crown has reportedly told hourly employees that they will not be compensated for their missed time unless they take vacation days or apply for unemployment.

However, the company also reportedly told employees in the latest message that once operations resume, time will have to be made up on the production schedule, leading to ample opportunities for voluntary overtime.