Company shuts down because of ransomware, leaves 300 without jobs just before holidays
Employees of Sherwood-based telemarketing firm The Heritage Company were notified of the decision just days before Christmas, via a letter sent by the company's CEO. "Unfortunately, approximately two months ago our Heritage servers were attacked by malicious software that basically 'held us hostage for ransom' and we were forced to pay the crooks to get the 'key' just to get our systems back up and running," wrote Sandra Franecke, the company's CEO, in the letter sent to employees. As a result of the botched ransomware recovery process, the company's leadership decided to suspend all services, leaving more than 300 employees without jobs. Local news outlet KATV reported last month that dozens of employees already filed for unemployment with local authorities even before the Christmas holiday, with many not expecting the company to survive. The same KATV reported that when employees called the company yesterday, they were greeted by a recorded message informing them that recovery efforts have not been successful and that users should seek new jobs.
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