Simpson Manufacturing hit by cyberattack

Dive Brief:

• Pleasanton, California-based Simpson Manufacturing Co. experienced a cyberattack that caused the company to take defensive measures, including a shutdown of certain systems, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission Form 8-K filed by the company on Wednesday.
• The company, which is a supplier of materials like fasteners, connectors and truss plates through its subsidiary, Simpson Strong-Tie, discovered the incident on Oct. 10, according to the filing.
• Simpson expects the breach to continue to disrupt parts of its business operations, according to the filing. It has also hired third-party cybersecurity experts to aid its investigation and recovery efforts. The company is still assessing the nature and scope of the breach, as its investigation remains in early stages, the filing said.

Dive Insight:

Shelby Lentz, the director of marketing communications for Simpson Strong-Tie, told Construction Dive that the company had no further information outside of what was in its SEC filing.

Simpson caters to the residential, commercial, national retail, original equipment manufacturing and building technology segments of the industry, according to its website. Last year, it had consolidated net sales of $2.12 billion, an increase of 34.5% from $1.57 billion in the previous year, according to the company’s full-year earnings report.

This is at least the second construction-related company to have a visible cybersecurity incident in recent weeks. 

Builders Mutual Insurance Co., a commercial construction underwriter based in Raleigh, North Carolina, was the target of a hack that affected the personal information of 64,761 customers, current employees and former workers. The breach was revealed in a filing with the Maine Attorney General’s office on Sept. 29.