Carnival stock price tumbles after suffering a ransomware attack

Shares of Carnival PLC (LON: CCL) tumbled around 4% on Tuesday after the cruise operator said it suffered a ransomware attack on one of its ICT systems. Carnival stock price plunged before recovering to trade in the green again.

Fundamental analysis: Investigation ongoing

Carnival, one of the largest travel leisure companies in the world, said it will start an investigation into a ransomware attack on one of its brand’s information technology systems. In the regulatory filing, Carnival said the cyber attack gained unauthorized access to personal info of the company’s guests and staff.

Carnival refused to reveal the identity of the affected brand and provided very little detail. The Miami-based corporation hasn’t had a great year regardless of the recent attack as it faced many challenges such as suspension of its cruises for several months because of coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions.

Carnival said that some data files were downloaded during the attack and that there were no guarantees that IT systems of its other cruises will not be impacted. The attack was conducted using ransomware, a malicious program that hackers use to gain control of files in the system and then make requests such as payments to recover the files. 

Carnival said it hoped the attack will not affect its business and financial performance. 

Technical analysis: Stock price recovers

Carnival stock price initially tumbled around 4% before racing higher to erase gains and trade around 1% in the green. The cruising industry has been one of the worst-hit sectors in the world amid the pandemic. 

Shares of Carnival now trade around 75% lower compared to the beginning of the year. All attempts from the side of buyers to stage a relief rally have failed so far. The multi-year support is located just below the 600p handle.

Summary

Carnival Corp said it will initiate an investigation into the recent ransomware attack that included unauthorized access into one of its brands’ information technology systems. The company said the hackers managed to download some data files during the attack.