KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Count a well-known and busy local auction company among those affected by a cyberattack on a Nebraska vendor.
Powell Auction & Realty Co. is a customer of Sandhills Global, of Lincoln, Neb., which hosts auction websites for sellers. Sandhills was hit by the attack a couple days ago.
Kenny Phillips, president of Powell Auction, said Monday his firm had 18 auctions scheduled for which they will delay the end times or shift to a later date. They've alerted customers to watch their website for updates.
Phillips said Sandhills Global's platform is popular in the auction business because it's user friendly. As a result, the auction and estate sales industry across the country has felt the impact of the attack.
Powell Auction does most of its auctions online now; very few are in person, according to Phillips. Across the industry, sales have been shifting to online, and the COVID-19 pandemic has speeded up the trend.
"We’re waiting to hear what the plan is, if they pay the ransom or try a different route to get their systems back up," Phillips told WBIR on Monday. "We are waiting and will have to shift to other platforms if it doesn’t happen very quickly.”
The Associated Press reports Sandhills Global has told customers it had shut down several systems temporarily to protect data.
Publications operated by Sandhills that were not available online Sunday include Truck Paper, TractorHouse, AuctionTime, Machinery Trader, ForestryTrader, HiBid, RentalYard, Motorsports Universe, CraneTrader, MarketBook, RV Universe, Oil Field Trader, Aircraft, LiveStockMarket, Controller and Aircraft.com.
The company said it had hired cybersecurity experts to help it respond to the attack, and Sandhills continues to investigate whether any client data had been accessed or impacted by this incident, the AP reports.