Car rental company Sixt was the victim of a cyber attack at the weekend. The attack began on Friday, April 29, 2022. According to n-tv, there were huge restrictions on booking rental cars that had to be made in print and it was not possible to contact Sixt even by phone.
A company representative asked customers to be patient. Sixt noticed the attack and was able to contain it relatively quickly. Standard precautions were activated and access to their systems was restricted. Then the scheduled procedures began recoverys. Meanwhile, the company said its "backup systems" were working fine.
Many of Sixt's central systems, particularly its website and apps, are currently operational, but temporary outages are expected in the short term, particularly at customer centers and selected branches. Sixt has reportedly launched a thorough research with internal and external partners and will provide additional information as they become available.
The Sixt press release from May 1, 2022.
Pullach, May 1, 2022 - Sixt SE IT Security detected irregularities on April 29, 2022. Response measures were implemented immediately in accordance with pre-designed security protocols. It was later confirmed that Sixt SE had been hit by a cyber attack, which Sixt was able to contain at an early stage.
As a standard precaution, access to IT systems was immediately restricted and pre-planned recovery procedures were initiated. Many of Sixt's central systems, particularly the website and apps, were kept up and running. Therefore, the effects on the company, the operations and the services have been minimized to provide services to customers. However, temporary disruptions, particularly at customer service centers and selected branches, are likely to occur in the short term.
Sixt takes this incident very seriously and conducts a thorough investigation with internal and external experts.
Sixt will provide further updates as soon as more information is available and ask customers for their understanding and patience.