TEMPE, AZ – Benchmark cut its outlook for fourth quarter revenue due to impacts of a ransomware incident.

During the quarter, some of the company's systems were affected by ransomware that encrypted information on its systems and disrupted customer and employee access to its applications and services.

The company now expects preliminary revenue for the fourth quarter of $505 million to $510 million, an update from the previously announced expectation of $520 million to $570 million.

Benchmark says it immediately took steps to isolate the impact and implement measures to prevent additional systems from being affected, including taking its network offline as a precaution.

In connection with this incident, third-party consultants and forensic experts were engaged to assist with the restoration and remediation of the company's systems and, with the assistance of law enforcement, to investigate the incident.

Benchmark says it found no evidence customer or employee data were exfiltrated from its network.

The company restored connectivity and resumed operations. However, fourth quarter revenue was adversely affected, as the company was unable to fulfill customer demand during the period.

“It's unfortunate this is the world we now live in where no company is immune from these types of damaging attacks,” said Benchmark CEO and president Jeff Benck. “I am proud of how our teams responded and worked tirelessly in the fourth quarter to meet customer critical demands. Our customers were incredible during this outage, which is a true testament to the deep partnerships we have. I want to express my deepest gratitude for the unwavering support of our team that enabled us to return to full operations quickly in the fourth quarter. As we enter 2020, we are as confident as ever in the fundamental strength of our business and look forward to a good start to the year."

Benchmark expects first quarter 2020 revenue of $530 million to $570 million.

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