Home appliance company Presto says cyberattack causing delivery delays

A company that produces widely sold air fryers and pressure cookers said a cyberattack was hampering its shipping and manufacturing processes. 

National Presto Industries — the company behind the Presto brand of home appliances — filed notices with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday evening warning that it is experiencing a system outage caused by a cybersecurity incident that began on March 1.

“The incident has temporarily impacted the Registrant’s operations, including shipping and receiving, some manufacturing processes, and various other back office functions, much of which are in the process of being restored. The Registrant has implemented temporary measures to maintain critical functions while systems are being restored,” the Wisconsin-based company explained.

Law enforcement has been notified and an incident response team of both internal and outside cybersecurity experts has been activated. 

The company did not respond to requests for comment but said in the SEC filing that it is conducting a forensic analysis to determine the scope of the incident. 

National Presto Industries operates three separate business segments: its home appliance products, ranging from pressure cookers to waffle makers and air fryers; a set of subsidiaries that contract with the U.S. military; and a safety department that makes carbon monoxide detectors, fire alarms and fire extinguishers. 

The SEC filing did not specify if the military contractors — several subsidiaries under the National Defense Corporation umbrella — were affected by the incident. National Defense Corporation did not respond to a request for comment. 

National Presto Industries reported two weeks ago that net 2024 consolidated sales increased to $388.2 million, driven largely by its defense segment.

In the SEC filing, the copany said it has or will notify any relevant federal and state regulatory bodies or agencies. 

The company warned that the incident “could have the potential to have a material impact on the Registrant’s financial condition and results of operations.” 

No cybercriminal operations have taken credit for the incident as of Friday.