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View over the Rheinhafen Birsfelden harbor area. File Image: KEYSTONE
A cyber attack forced community workers to work on the ground
The administration of the municipality of Birsfelden in Basel wants to move, but the chairs and tables are missing due to a cyberattack. The date of the move falls by the water, indefinitely.
At first he was unlucky, then he was also unlucky. The community had been searching for a new location for its administration for years, but to no avail. Two years ago it worked: Birsfelden was able to buy the building in the central square of the Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank (BLKB). The first employees should have moved in these days. But now the furniture is missing, the date of the move falls, for an indefinite period.
And Birsfelden can’t even do anything about it. The reason for the delay is that the company that produces the furniture for the new administration has been the victim of a cyber attack. “As a result, it was forced,” the municipality said, “to stop all operational activities.”
Martin Schürmann, city manager for Birsfeld, said: “But setting everything up and then dismantling it and cleaning it again seemed like too much effort.”
The manufacturer stops production after the attack.
The municipality did not order the furniture itself. He placed the furniture order by sending it to office planning company WSA, and they found what they were looking for at Steelcase, which, according to its own statements, is the world’s largest office furniture manufacturer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and with various branches in Europe.
Birsfelden commissioned this set of table chairs. picture: steel case
At the end of October, Steelcase informed the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that it had been the victim of a cyber attack. The perpetrators attempt to blackmail the company. Steelcase said the affected systems were immediately shut down. According to the report, it was not known whether the sensitive data had fallen into the hands of criminals. One is in the process of restarting operations.
Employees have to work on the floor or do other media.
However, the damage is obviously so great that Birsfelden has to wait for his furniture. Not all furniture has been ordered from Steelcase, says Schürmann: “The furniture for the break rooms and meeting rooms comes from a manufacturer in Switzerland and would be ready.” However, because Steelcase’s failure means that desks, chairs and cabinets will be missing, employees would have to work on the floor or find other means.
Nor is it possible to send all employees to the head office, says Schürmann. A large part of the workforce already works from home. “The administration still relies heavily on paper files and documents.” Wait with the move until all 50 or so workplaces have been established. In December 2018, the municipal assembly voted 8.7 million francs for the purchase of condos in the former BLKB branch.
Subsequently, the sovereign approved another 4.3 million Swiss francs for the renovation, furnishings and relocation. We still don’t know how expensive the delay will be, says Schürmann. The community benefits from the fact that it owns not only the new management, but also the old location at Hardstrasse 21.
Employees just wait until their new furniture is there.
(bzbasel.ch)
