Fairlife pauses US production after cyberattack breached milk brand's systems

NEW YORK (AP) — Milk brand Fairlife is pausing its production in the U.S. after a ransomware cyberattack breached the company's systems.

Coca-Cola, which owns Fairlife, announced Thursday that its dairy company had identified “unauthorized access by a third party” to a portion of its systems, including those related to production. The company disclosed that this was in connection to a ransomware event — and in response, it took some operations offline.

“Product quality and safety have not been impacted," Atlanta-based Coca-Cola said in a statement. “However, as a result of the incident, production operations at fairlife in the United States are temporarily suspended.”

Fairlife’s Canadian operations were not affected. The full scope and impacts of the attack are otherwise still unknown, Coca-Cola added — but the beverage giant said it had informed law enforcement, and is also working with cybersecurity experts as it continues its investigation and recovery to restore operations.

A company spokesperson said there were no further updates to share as of Friday morning.

Cyberattacks are on the rise across sectors. Beyond dairy goods, other breaches have recently resulted in anything from core education services getting knocked offline to empty shelves at popular clothing or grocery stores.

Ransomware attacks — in which hackers demand a hefty payment to restore hacked systems — also account for a growing share of cyber crimes. And experts note that attackers know there’s a particular impact when going after well-known brands and products that shoppers buy or need every day.

Fairlife, based in Chicago, touts over $3 billion in annual retail sales today. The company produces a range of lactose-free products — which beyond milk, includes protein shakes.