(WXIN) – You may have a harder time getting Clorox wipes — and it has nothing to do with COVID-19.
The Clorox Company disclosed this week in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that a cyberattack has disrupted its business operations.
The August cybersecurity incident targeted the company’s information technology systems. Clorox took “immediate steps” to stop it and brought some of its systems offline.
As a result, the company instituted a manual ordering and processing procedure at a “reduced rate of operations.” It’s started to affect the supply of products, including disinfecting wipes, available to customers.
“The Company is operating at a lower rate of order processing and has recently begun to experience an elevated level of consumer product availability issues,” according to the SEC filing.
Clorox believes any unauthorized activity has been contained and is investigating the incident. The company will bring some of its automated ordering systems online starting next week.
Clorox has resumed production at the “vast majority” of its manufacturing sites and will soon ramp up to full production. The company couldn’t say when it would be able to return to normal operations.
Clorox wipes were in high demand at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when cleaning products flew off the shelves. While the company ramped up production in August 2020 to meet demand, shortages stretched into 2021.
