Asking Customers for “Patience”
Car rental company Sixt reports cyber attack

05/02/2022, 08:05 am

Rental cars can only be booked on paper, hotlines can’t be reached: Six has been battling huge technical problems over the weekend. The company is now talking about cyber attacks. Customers should continue to expect sanctions.

Car rental company Sixt SE suffered a cyber attack on April 29, which the company says it was able to control at an early stage. However, customers are still asked to be patient. As a standard precautionary measure, access to IT systems was restricted and a planned recovery process was initiated, the company said following reports of problems leasing cars over the weekend.

Customers report that booking a Friday morning rental car was sometimes only possible in a paper form, and the hotline only worked to a limited extent. In fact, the head office’s landline number was initially unavailable, as reported by “Wertschaftswoche”.

In the meantime, however, the “back-up system” will run stably, a spokesperson for the company told the newspaper. Many of Sixt’s central systems, particularly websites and apps, could have been kept running, Sixt emphasized. The impact on the Company, its processes and services is minimized. However, in the short term, temporary losses, especially at customer centers and selected branches, should be expected. Sixt has launched an in-depth investigation with internal and external experts and will provide further information as new information becomes available.

There have been several hacker attacks on companies in recent months. Wind turbine maker Nordex recently reported that the company was the target of a cyber incident. IT systems in several business areas had to be shut down at different places as a precaution.