ugc_banner

United States: Cyber attack causes cream cheese shortage as Christmas nears

WION Web Team
Washington, United StatesUpdated: Dec 10, 2021, 11:40 PM IST
main img
In this representative image, slices of cheese can be seen Photograph:(AFP)

Story highlights

The demand of cheese increases during the holiday season in the US as people like to use it on bagels and bake cheesecakes

A cyber attack has caused a cream cheese shortage in the United States. The cybersecurity of the biggest cheese manufacturer in the country, Schreiber Foods in Wisconsin, has been compromised.

The company is unable to meet the unprecedented demand and its loss of production had shaken the entire market in the country.

As a result of the cyberattack, the company's plants and distribution centres were shut down. Due to which it concurred a huge loss while its rival Kraft thrived.

The demand of cheese increases during the holiday season in the US as people like to use it on bagels and bake cheesecakes.

''Bagels on a Sunday with a schmear is one thing, but Christmas without cheesecake is another'' Alan Rosen, the owner of Junior’s Cheesecake in New York City that ran out of cheese, told Bloomberg in a telephonic interview.

The coronavirus pandemic led to a massive strain on the production and labour demand. It is difficult to store cream cheese due to a lack of reserves and because it does not remain fresh for a very long period of time.

According to Emma Aer, Chief Executive Officer Franklin Foods, ''All this together has aggravated the cream cheese situation in the country. We just can’t keep up with the demand''

''We are maximizing our production to meet the unprecedented demand,'' said Kathy Krenger, spokesperson for Kraft Heinz.

In 2020, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation received a record number of complaints of cybercrime. They represented a 69 per cent increase compared to 2019 and losses exceeding $4.1 billion.

As part of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill signed into law in March, President Joe Biden announced $650 million in additional funding for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and $1 billion to update federal technology systems.

(With inputs from agencies)