Here’s your worst nightmare: E-tailer can only resume partial sales 45 days after ransomware attack

Japanese e-tailer Askul has resumed online sales, 45 days after a ransomware attack.

Askul operates several e-commerce brands serving both consumers and business buyers, plus logistics services used by other consumer brands including Muji. Its own site serves smaller businesses, while its SOLOEL ARENA brand targets corporate procurement customers. Its Lohaco brand, a consumer goods site, even has a tie-up with Yahoo Japan.

On October 19, the company found itself infected by ransomware and the next day advised it couldn’t accept orders or ship products. On October 22 the company said its Warehouse Management System was the problem, which meant it had to suspend its logistics services.

On October 30th, the company revealed the attack led to a major data breach, with customers’ names and contact details leaked. Some of that data appeared online. ASKUL acknowledged that, apologized, set up a cloudy email service to communicate with customers and ...