Crystal D (PPAI 112326, Gold) – the No. 88 supplier in the PPAI 100 – has reported that its systems are fully operational following a recent cyberattack.

  • The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company immediately took its systems offline when it suspected the incident in early March.
  • After assessing the security of its data before bringing its systems back online, the firm reported that its inspection showed no indication of any customer or employee information being accessed.


“We’re thankful for the quick response of our information security team, as well as our outside partners who painstakingly combed through everything to ensure the integrity of our systems,” says Mike Irvine, EVP and COO at Crystal D. “Their expertise is one of the many silver linings we’re grateful to have had during a stressful time.”

Irvine shared that despite Crystal D’s employees having to do many tasks “the old-fashioned way,” including providing quotes and entering orders manually, 97.25% of the orders received during the outage were produced and shipped on time.

Mike Irvine headshot
Our Memory Makers went infinitely above and beyond the call to ensure our customers’ orders were managed as best as possible.”

Mike Irvine

EVP & COO, Crystal D



“Our Memory Makers went infinitely above and beyond the call to ensure our customers’ orders were managed as best as possible despite the speed bumps caused by working offline,” Irvine says. “Hearing from our friends outside Crystal D who said they’re here for us, and knowing they were extending grace, meant the world.”

Bridget Dahlgren, Crystal D’s executive vice president of marketing and sales, says the team received care packages and support from direct competitors, as well as had customers who shifted their dates to help the company prioritize its most urgent projects. “We’re deeply thankful and will never forget all of the help, patience and understanding expressed to us,” Dahlgren says.

RELATED: ‘We Divided And Conquered.’ Crystal D Reflects On Business After Tragedy

Irvine credited Crystal D’s people-first mentality, established by founder Chuck Dahlgren, for how its teams rallied to support customers and complete orders while automated processes were paused.

“Memory Makers leaped in to help in any way they could, cross-training each other and assisting with tasks that may ordinarily fall outside their job responsibilities, just to ensure our customers were being taken care of as best we could under the circumstances,” Irvine says. “During a really frustrating time, our people made the real difference.”

Increased Scrutiny

As the threat from cyberattacks evolves, the importance of customer data security is vital for all B2B businesses, including those in promotional products. Large end-buyer prospects in particular are sensitive to the need for data security, distributors say.

RELATED: Cybersecurity: Big Business’s No. 1 Vendor Priority

As with other digital transformation initiatives, it’s recommended that security receive close executive supervision. On average, promo’s largest companies are more focused on cybersecurity.