Ransomware attack strikes Nygard IT systems on Dec. 12, receiver company assessing impact
Peter Nygard will ring in the new year behind jail bars, while the company in control of Nygard’s assets recovers from a ransomware attack that impacted dozens of computer servers linked to the Nygard IT system.
RCMP and Winnipeg police arrested Nygard on Dec. 14 in relation to a nine-count indictment in the United States accusing the 79-year-old of racketeering, sex trafficking and other related crimes. He is currently in custody at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.
While in court on Dec. 15, Justice Sheldon Lanchbery said Nygard would be held in jail until Jan. 13, 2021. But on Thursday, Nygard’s bail application was set for 10 a.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.
A total of 57 women have joined a class-action suit, filed in New York earlier this year, accusing Nygard of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking dating back to 1977.
The class action was put on hold in August after a judge presiding over the case in the Southern District of New York entered a stay of proceeding so that the FBI could complete its investigation, according to court documents.
The FBI is urging anyone who believes they are a victim of the sexual abuse perpetrated by Nygard to contact them at 1-800-225-5324.
No allegations have been proven in court.
Nygard IT system hacked
Richter Advisory Group Inc., the court-appointed receiver of Nygard’s assets, says Nygard IT servers were a victim of a ransomware attack, according to a court document dated Dec. 30.
Informanix — a third-party IT consultant hired to preserve digital records — and the Nygard IT staff were working to recover records and computer servers impacted by a November power outage in northwestern Winnipeg when they had to pivot to deal with a ransomware attack on Dec. 12.
The ransomware attack — a type of malware attack where the perpetrator locks and encrypts the victim’s data and demands payment to unlock and decrypt the data — compromised “certain electronic records, programs and IT infrastructure of the Nygard organization, including the debtors,” the court document says.
But “by…
