How One Bad Password Ended a 158-Year-Old Business

"No matter what advanced security mechanisms your organization has in place, everything falls if basic security measures fail. In the KNP attack, Akira targeted the company's internet-facing systems, found an employee credential without multi-factor authentication, and guessed the password. Once inside, they deployed their ransomware payload across the company's entire digital infrastructure. But the hackers didn't stop at encrypting critical business data. They also destroyed KNP's backups and disaster recovery systems, ensuring that the company had no path to recovery without paying their ransom."

"KNP had industry-standard IT compliance and cyber-attack insurance, but none of these protections were enough to keep the organization going. Operations came to a standstill. Every truck was sidelined. All business data remained locked away. The cyber crisis team brought in by insurers described it as "the worst-case scenario" for any organization. Within weeks, KNP entered administration, and 700 employees lost their jobs."

KNP Logistics Group, a Northamptonshire transport firm with 158 years of operation and 500 trucks, was crippled in June 2025 after hackers guessed an employee's weak password. The Akira ransomware group accessed internet-facing systems, bypassed the lack of multi-factor authentication, and deployed ransomware across the company's digital infrastructure. Attackers encrypted critical data, destroyed backups and disaster recovery systems, and demanded an estimated £5 million ransom. Industry-standard IT compliance and cyber-attack insurance proved insufficient to restore operations. All trucks were sidelined, business data remained locked, and within weeks KNP entered administration, causing 700 employees to lose their jobs.

Read at The Hacker News