Car rental company Sixt victim of a cyber attack

The car rental company Sixt has become a victim of a cyber attack over the weekend. Already on Friday, April 29, 2022, the cyberattack kicked the provider's systems into overdrive. As n-tv reports here, there were massive restrictions on the booking of rental cars. These had to be made in paper form, and Sixt could not be reached by phone either.

I became aware of this cyber attack on the provider Sixt via the following tweet, which n-tv picked up on in this article.

n-tv quotes a company speaker as saying that customers were still asked for "patience". According to n-tv, customers reported that on Friday rental cars could only be rented via paper. The hotline was only accessible to a limited extent, it said.

Fortunately, Sixt noticed the attack immediately and was able to contain it quickly. Standard precautionary measures were activated and access to IT systems was restricted. Planned recovery processes were then initiated, it adds. The company meanwhile said that the "back-up systems" were running stably.

Many of Sixt's central systems, particularly its website and apps, were kept up and running, according to a company spokeswoman. The impact on the company, its operations and services has been minimized, she said. However, temporary disruptions, particularly at customer centers and selected branches, are to be expected in the short term, the spokeswoman said. Sixt has launched a thorough investigation with internal and external experts and will provide further information as soon as new information is available, she added.

Cyber attacks on companies and facilities are now part of daily business, so to speak, and occur on a daily basis.  It remains exciting whether or not data was siphoned off by the cyber attack.

Addendum: I found the Sixt press release from Mai 1, 2022.

Pullach, 1 May 2022 – Sixt SE IT security detected IT irregularities on April 29th, 2022. Response measures were implemented immediately in accordance with pre-planned security protocols. Subsequently, it has been confirmed that Sixt SE was subject to a cyber-attack, which Sixt was able to contain at an early stage.

As a standard precautionary measure, access to IT systems was immediately restricted and the pre-planned recovery processes were initiated. Many central Sixt systems, in particular the website and apps were kept up and running. Thereby, impacts on the company, its operations and services have been minimized to provide business continuity for customers. However, temporary disruptions, in particular in customer care centers and selective branches, are likely to occur in the short term.

Nevertheless, Sixt is taking this incident seriously and has implemented a thorough investigation with internal and external experts.

Sixt will provide further updates as soon as more information is available and asks customers for their understanding and patience.