Merck cyberattack’s $1.3 billion question: Was it an act of war?
By the end of 2017, Merck estimated initially in regulatory filings that the malware did $870 million in damage. Among other things, NotPetya so crippled Merck’s production facilities that it couldn’t meet demand that year for Gardasil 9, the leading vaccine against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer. Merck had to borrow 1.8 million doses — the entire U.S. emergency supply — from the Pediatric National Stockpile. It took Merck 18 months to replenish the cache, valued at $240 million.
