Tempur Sealy Resumes Operations After Cyber Attack

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Mattress manufacturer Tempur Sealy International says it has resumed normal operations after shutting down certain information technology (IT) systems following a cyber attack.

The shutdown resulted in a temporary interruption of operations, said the company, which disclosed the incident in a July 31 Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The company said it identified the breach on July 23 and took steps to contain the incident, including shutting down some of its IT systems.

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A forensic investigation remains ongoing, Tempur Sealy said in the filing. Work continues to determine whether this incident will have a material impact on the company’s business, operations or financial results, it said.

Minding personal information

“If the Company determines that any personal information was involved, it would endeavor to comply with any reporting obligations it may have with respect to such information under applicable law,” according to the filing.

On Aug. 3, Tempur Sealy reported that second-quarter net sales rose 4.8% to $1.3 billion and net income increased 2% to $92 million, compared with the same year-ago period.

“This quarter's results were delivered in markets that were a bit less robust than we expected, said Scott Thompson, chairman and CEO, in a statement. The company outperformed the global industry, which partially mitigated the negative impact of headwinds, he said.

Thompson added that the company, which agreed in May to acquire rival Mattress Firm, is in the process of responding to a Federal Trade Commission second request for more information on the planned merger. Thompson added that the company expects to close the transaction next year.

The news of the cyber attack comes days after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 612,000 Medicare recipients and millions of other health care consumers.

CMS says it is working with Maximus Federal Services, one of the agency’s Medicare program contractors, to notify Medicare beneficiaries who may be affected by the incident. Both CMS and Maximus are offering free credit monitoring services for two years.

Joey Solitro is a freelance financial journalist at Kiplinger with more than a decade of experience. A longtime equity analyst, Joey has covered a range of industries for media outlets including The Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Market Realist, and TipRanks. Joey holds a bachelor's degree in business administration.