Strathroy, Ontario — Oct. 2, 2019 — After a Strathroy, Ontario-based lightweight automotive metal supplier Meridian Lightweight Technologies suffered a cyber attack last week, OPP has contacted the FBI for assistance.
The nature of the Meridian cyber attack, or whether the hackers demanded a ransom from the company to release date, is not yet known. The company has not commented on whether last week’s incident affected the plant’s production but, as of Monday, Sept. 30 it said all operations were running normally.
Strathroy police were contacted shortly after the attack was realized. From there, Strathroy contacted the OPP, which then reached out to the FBI for assistance.
Meridian is a supplier of lightweight cast magnesium and metal solutions for the transportation and automotive industries. Because the company has plants in the U.S., Mexico and the U.K, the OPP felt it only made sense to contact the FBI.
Meridian is one of Strathroy’s largest employers, with about 600 employees working at the town’s plant. Workers have been cautioned to refrain from connecting their laptops to the company’s network “until further notice.”
While Meridian is believed to be one of Ontario’s first private-sector businesses to be targeted by a large-scale cyber attack, two hospitals—in Listowel, Ont. and Wingham, Ont.—were hit just days before. On Sept. 21, the city of Woodstock, Ont. suffered its own attack.
