Chemical manufacturers Hexion Inc. (Columbus, Ohio; www.hexion.com) and Momentive (Waterford, N.Y.; www.momentive.com) announced, separately, that the companies have been responding to cybersecurity incidents. This follows a severe cyber-attack last week targeting Norwegian aluminum manufacturer Norsk Hydro and a December 2018 cyber-attack on engineering services company Saipem.
On Friday, March 22, Momentive and Hexion had taken steps to restore networks and resume normal operations as quickly as possible in response to the network security incidents that prevented access to certain information technology systems and data within the companies’ networks.
Momentive said that it took immediate action to contain the incident and has implemented its business continuity plan. The company is working closely with external cybersecurity experts to restore its affected information technology systems. Since the time of the incident, the company’s manufacturing processes, which rely on separate networks, have continued to operate safely, largely without interruption, and in compliance with all environmental regulations. The impact from the security incident has primarily impacted the company’s corporate functions. Momentive has also taken additional precautionary measures to ensure the continued safe operations of its sites. There was no evidence that any customer, supplier or employee information was accessed or exfiltrated during this incident, or that any customer or supplier systems or data outside the company’s network have been impacted.
Similarly, Hexion is currently implementing its technical recovery plan. When it discovered the incident, Hexion immediately took aggressive steps to isolate the issue by disabling certain systems and notifying the appropriate government authorities. At the current time and throughout the incident, the company’s manufacturing sites have continued to operate normally and with limited interruption. The impact from the network security incident has primarily impacted the company’s corporate functions.
Hexion has also taken additional precautionary measures to ensure the continued safe operations of its sites. The company remains committed to maintaining the network security with the least amount of customer disruptions. A number of Hexion’s information technology systems, including email correspondence, were immediately shut down to contain the issue and continue to be restored. Hexion is working closely with its customers and suppliers to minimize any disruption. Hexion currently does not believe that any customer, supplier or employee data was impacted as a result of this incident.