Boat and yacht dealer MarineMax has confirmed it has suffered a cyber security attack which took its IT systems offline.
The attack is believed to have begun on Sunday March 10 2024 and has left many of MarineMax’s internal systems unavailable.
The organisation has reported the attack to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In its filing, MarineMax stated that a ‘third party gained unauthorized access to portions of its information environment’.
The filing continued: “Upon detection, the Company initiated its previously determined incident response and business continuity protocols and took immediate measures to contain the incident.
“As part of this process, the containment measures resulted in some disruption to a portion of the Company’s business.”
Investigations are continuing
The filing states that the Company’s operations have continued throughout the matter ‘in all material respects’.
Investigations are continuing with cybersecurity experts engaged. Law enforcement authorities have been notified.
MarineMax states that the incident has not had a material impact on the Company’s operations, and it is still in the process of determining whether the incident is likely to materially impact the Company’s financial conditions or results of operations.
The filing stated that sensitive data is not held in the information impacted by the incident.
MarineMax dealerships are said to have reported issues with sales and service processes as IT systems grapple with the aftermath.
The filing did not elaborate on who may be behind the attack or whether the organisation is being asked to pay a ransom.
The company has more than 125 locations worldwide and has nearly 4,000 employees. The dealer reported a record December quarter revenue of more than $500 million with a gross profit margin of 33.3%.
