Maple Leaf Foods cyberattack reduces production and disrupts order processing and shipping

Maple Leaf Foods experienced a cybersecurity incident on November 4, 2022, causing a widespread systems outage across its business. The company shifted automated activities to manual procedures for collecting purchase orders, managing production, shipping and invoicing. Its manufacturing plants continued operating, but production volumes were reduced, operational disruptions varied by facility, inventory was written off and sales volumes were lost. Systems were restored over approximately one week. The company reported a direct and indirect financial impact of at least CAD 23 million, equivalent to approximately USD 16.7 million in contemporary financial reporting. Maple Leaf Foods separately confirmed unauthorized access to corporate data and an extortion demand. BLACK BASTA claimed responsibility and published purported stolen documents, but the available company statements do not independently establish ransomware encryption as the mechanism of the systems outage.