Essent, a business management platform used by many promotional products suppliers and distributors, revealed it has been the victim of an “encryption attack” that’s disrupted its network and communication systems.

The company’s system has been down since Friday, Nov. 4, and Essent noted in a statement that it doesn’t yet know when connectivity will be restored.

Essent added that an investigation determined that the outage was the result of an encryption attack, a type of ransomware attack that locks users out of their important files and asks for a ransom to decrypt them. “We have engaged outside experts to assist with the process of determining the scope of the impact and remediate the problem,” noted the company in a statement sent to ASI Media. “We are working around the clock to regain operations, but we do not yet have a timeline for safe and secure access to the network. Customers have been notified and may reach us at ContactEssent@gmail.com.”

Several suppliers and distributors in the industry reported being affected by the Essent attack. Shepenco (asi/86850) posted on Monday, Nov. 7, that it was experiencing network outages that affected its operating system and website. “Essent Corporation and our team are working hard to restore orders and processing,” the supplier wrote. “In the meantime, your orders are very important to us. Our phones and emails are still functional and we are still shipping in house orders. Thank you for your patience.”

Essent is a progressive cloud provider of fully integrated ERP, business process automation, e-commerce and network communications for businesses.

Cyberattacks in the promotional products industry have been on the rise in recent years, with entities that range from Top 40 suppliers to mom-and-pop shops getting hacked. Ransomware damages are expected to exceed $30 billion worldwide next year, according to InfoSecurity. Many firms have invested in cybersecurity insurance, despite rising premiums for the service, calling it a “necessary evil.”