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Nothing could protect Durex peddler from NotPetya ransomware

Reckitt Benckiser revenues wrecked by comp-wiping nasty

The owner of the Dettol brand and Durex condoms could be left millions out of pocket after falling victim to the NotPetya ransomware last week.

The malware attack, which centred on Ukraine but also affected several multinationals worldwide, disrupted production and deliveries at UK-based Reckitt Benckiser, a consumer goods firm specialising in health, hygiene and home products that operates in 60 countries and employs 37,000 people. The effects on the company were felt across numerous regions, it said following the June 27 attack. The firm put out an update on Tuesday stating it was in the process of recovering.

"We were unable to ship and invoice some orders to customers prior to the close of the quarter," it said in a statement on (PDF) Thursday. "Some of our factories are currently still not operating normally but plans are in place to return to full operation."

Reckitt Benckiser said it was still assessing the damage.

"We expect that some of the revenue lost from the second quarter will be recovered in the third quarter. However, the continued production difficulties in some factories mean that we also expect to lose some further revenue permanently."

The firm previously expected to see its revenues increase by 3 per cent but has revised that to 2 per cent, an adjustment on revenues of £10bn last year, which equates to around £100m in lost sales. Factors such as a new Goods and Service Tax in India have also affected Reckitt Benckiser's financials by resulting in reduced orders, so the profits warning isn't all down to NotPetya.

Other organisations struggling through the aftermath of the NotPetya ransomware attack include shipping giant Maersk, US delivery service FedEx and advertising group WPP. ®

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