A cyberattack that is wreaking havoc on companies around the world is also hitting close to home as businesses are impacted by the new strain of ransomware.

Poinciana Milling Complex in Kissimmee said its computers were affected Thursday, shutting down the company's rice-milling operations and locking all files, which are now held for ransom to a cyber attacker.

"For every day that goes by, we lose money," said Jean Badley, a fourth-generation rice miller. "We lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. ... It said something about bitcoins and encrypted files. I had no clue what that was, so I called in the IT person right away."

Badley's husband and business co-owner, Hefazul Hakh, said they can't even retrieve all of the purchase orders.

"I thought we had a system that could save these files and these people are very smart who are doing these things," he said.

Ray Bazzi, a cybersecurity analyst with Diriga Technologies, said the attack hits small businesses especially hard because they might not be prepared.

"Unfortunately if you don't have a good backup recovery system, you're gambling," he said.

Bazzi shared other tips for protecting your business — or yourself — from cyberattacks:

  • Keep your software updated
  • Educate your employees on how to spot the signs
  • Have a unified threat strategy