Booze and cruise providers are the latest to be hit by ransomware scourge

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Ransomware operators are continuing their blitz on corporations with deep pockets, with Jack Daniel's distiller Brown-Forman and cruise line behemoth Carnival being two of the latest to be hit.

In a statement, Brown-Forman officials wrote:

Brown-Forman was the victim of a cybersecurity attack. Our quick actions upon discovering the attack prevented our systems from being encrypted. Unfortunately, we believe some information, including employee data, was impacted. We are working closely with law enforcement, as well as world class third-party data security experts, to mitigate and resolve this situation as soon as possible. There are no active negotiations.

The statement came after Bloomberg News reported that it had received an anonymous tip of a ransomware attack. A Dark Web site that claims to be run by members of the REvil strain of ransomware says it has obtained 1 terabyte of data from Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown-Forman. (In addition to producing Jack Daniel's, Brown-Forman also owns Finlandia vodka and other spirits.)

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