The Coca-Cola Co. said Fairlife has resumed most production at its four U.S. facilities, as it recovers from a ransomware attack reported on July 16 that disrupted the dairy company’s technology systems and operations.

The Anubis ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to multiple cybersecurity publications. Coca-Cola has not publicly confirmed the group’s involvement, and the claim has not been independently verified.

The cybersecurity incident involved unauthorized third-party access to Fairlife’s systems and data. The company temporarily suspended production as a result of the breach.

Coca-Cola said teams continue working to restore the remaining affected systems and operations.

Retail availability of Fairlife products was largely unaffected because the company had existing inventory available. Coca-Cola also said the disruption did not affect product quality or safety.

Why this matters for convenience services operators

• The Fairlife disruption shows how a ransomware attack at a major beverage supplier can interrupt production and create downstream risks for vending, micro market and office coffee service operators.
• Convenience services operators face similar cyber risks through connected payment systems, route management platforms and other business technology. On the Vending & OCS Nation podcast, Tech 2 Success CEO John Hickey advised operators to strengthen employee awareness, change passwords, enable multifactor authentication and begin improving security before a crisis occurs.