Clorox took systems offline after unauthorized activity on its network

The Clorox Company, the Oakland-based maker of bleach and cleaning products whose brands include Brita, Glad and Pine-Sol, disclosed on 14 August 2023 that it had identified unauthorized activity on some of its information technology systems. The company set out the incident in a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Clorox said that after becoming aware of the activity it began taking steps to stop and remediate it, including taking certain systems offline, and that it was coordinating with law enforcement. It engaged third-party cybersecurity experts to support its investigation and recovery, and implemented workarounds for some offline operations in line with its business continuity plans so it could keep servicing customers.

The filing stated plainly that the incident had caused, and was expected to continue to cause, disruption to parts of the company's business operations. Clorox did not identify which products or facilities were affected, did not say whether any data had been accessed or stolen, and did not name an attacker or confirm that ransomware was involved. SecurityWeek noted that taking systems offline is a response commonly associated with ransomware, but that the company made no such statement.

As of the August 2023 disclosure Clorox described the investigation into the nature and scope of the incident as ongoing and in its early stages, with affected systems still offline while additional protections were added.