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Sorrell responds to WPP hack

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Sir Martin Sorrell has issued a memo calling upon WPP employees to help minimise disruption to client business after the ransomware attack yesterday. In the same memo, which you can read for yourselves in full below, he also assured everyone that “WPP and its companies are still very much open for business” and that no client data currently appears to have been compromised.

The memo was issued in response to a cyber attack on Tuesday (27 June), which left employees at several WPP agencies locked out of their computers and greeted with a ransom note calling for $300 in bitcoin to decrypt and release their files.

This morning (28 June), WPP released a statement confirming that the attack had taken place and that, whilst it had hit a number of unspecified companies within the group, not all had been affected. The WPP website is live at the time of writing.

The so-called “Petya” attack is thought to have originated in the Ukraine. Other organisations affected include the departments in the Ukraine government, Kiev airport, a Spanish law firm, Mondelez, and a Russian oil company. A similar attack (the so-called “WannaCry” attack) hit 99 countries in May, and locked down IT systems in the UK’s NHS, leading to hospital closures.

This is the biggest cyber attack to hit the ad industry thus far, and as a result, cyber security is likely to be a growing concern for all agencies and holding companies going forward.

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Sir Martin Sorrell’s memo to WPP staff:

As you will know, organisations around the world have been hit by a cyber attack. A number of WPP companies – though not all – have been affected.

We are working with our IT partners and law enforcement agencies to assess the situation, take all precautionary steps and return to normal operations as soon as we can. At this time, we have no indication that either employee or client data has been compromised. As you would expect, our companies and teams are in contact with clients on an ongoing basis.

Many of you will have experienced significant disruption to your work. However, contrary to some press reports, WPP and its companies are still very much open for business.

We are a group packed full of highly creative, ingenious and dedicated people. I urge you all to put those qualities to use in making sure that what our clients experience in the hours and days ahead is as close to business as usual as we can possibly manage.

The IT teams in all our companies affected, coordinated by the Group IT function, are working hard to balance the need to protect our systems and the need to bring them back online in a timely fashion. The approach and solution will vary from company to company. It is crucial that you give them your full cooperation and support, and follow their instructions.

Thank you

Martin

WPP’s full statement:

On Tuesday 27 June a number of WPP companies (though not all) were affected by the ransomware attack that hit organisations around the world.

We are working with our IT partners and law enforcement agencies to take all appropriate precautionary measures, restore services where they have been disrupted, and keep the impact on clients, partners and our people to a minimum. Having taken steps to contain the attack, the priority now is to return to normal operations as soon as possible while protecting our systems.

Our operations have not been uniformly affected, and issues are being addressed on a company-by-company basis. Many of our businesses are experiencing no or minimal disruption.

We will provide further updates as the situation develops.

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