News

‘Still very much open for business’: WPP’s Sorrell stands firm after Petya attack

WPP remains open for business despite the company’s systems being crippled by the Petya malware over the past two day, boss Sir Martin Sorrell told staff in an internal memo overnight.

As of this morning, Singapore time, the global sites are running with the company’s spokespeople saying the priority is to return to normal operations.

Sorrell’s internal memo, which was originally reported by Campaign, said: “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.”

Sorrell’s statement was echoed by the official line from WPP’s spokespeople with their Singapore office releasing a statement last night.

“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.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella Asia newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing