Toll has reported that its teams worldwide are continuing to work tirelessly to ensure all customers and stakeholders have access to the transport and logistics company’s services following drastic measures to contain a ransomware attack.
The company issued a statement outlining how it is progressing with thorough testing and validation of its IT systems, in collaboration with key customers, with a view to restoring systems for anyone who engages with Toll’s IT network.
“As of Monday 10 February, the majority of Toll’s internal networks and user access are operational,” A Toll spokesperson said.
“With Global Forwarding, we’re continuing to move large volumes of international air and ocean freight shipments and, where possible, we’re processing customs clearance although turnaround times have been affected in some parts of the network.
“Our Global Express business, which includes our parcel delivery service, continues to operate with a combination of both manual and automated processes. A key priority is to bring our booking and tracking platform (MyToll) back online. We expect customers to be able to use this platform for some services towards the end of the week as we progressively roll out the full functionality of the platform.”
“With Global Logistics, we’re working closely with customers to restore key warehouse and transport applications. A number of applications are ready for testing with customers and we’re working closely with our customers during this process.”
Toll’s transport services continue to operate using manual and automated systems while the company works to bring all of its systems back online.
“We continue to operate with our business continuity plans and work on technical recovery,” Toll said.
Toll’s widespread IT disruption coincides with labour shortages, travel restrictions and cargo movement issues associated with the recent coronavirus outbreak.
With recent developments regarding bushfire recovery and flooding events across Australia, these supply chain issues are likely to compound issues for freight operators in the near future.
ANZ has stated that Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will fall 0.1 percentage points in the March quarter, with flooding in Queensland and Western Australia contributing to the bank’s projection.
On Friday 31 January, Toll became aware that it had received a targeted ransomware attack and moved quickly to disable the relevant systems and initiate a detailed investigation to understand the cause and put in place measures to deal with it. The company has since been working around the clock to mitigate the impact and ensure customers can continue to access services.
Toll reported that it is working with relevant authorities and referred the matter to the appropriate bodies for criminal investigation.
The cyber attack follows major changes in Toll’s managerial structure, with the company’s former Managing Director, Michael Byrne, having resigned at the end of last year after three years in the role.
Byrne’s successor, Thomas Knudsen, became Toll Group’s new Managing Director, effective 1 January 2020.
https://www.primemovermag.com.au/news/article/toll-actions-technical-cybersecurity-recovery-plan
