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Summary
- On Saturday, the world witnessed one of the largest cyber-attacks on a U.S tech service provider.
- The U.S service provider Kaseya was hit by ransomware which infected the desktop management system of the company.
- Kaseya in its statement said that only 40 of its customers were directly impacted by the attack.
- The latest cyber-attack is the second one since May when Colonial Pipeline was attacked leading to a major fuel shortage on the U.S east coast.
- Kaseya is working with the FBI and U.S Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to investigate who is behind the attack.
Yet another U.S company came under cyber-attack on 3 July forcing a major economic disruption in Sweden. The U.S based tech provider Kaseya was hit by a major ransomware, leading to loss of control of its desktop management tool VSA. REvil, a ransomware gang is suspected of a malicious attack and has been declared one of the largest cyberattacks in history.
Kaseya is also used by many small to mid-sized businesses and Managed Service Provider (MSP) in New Zealand. New Zealand fears that there may be some people here who would have also been affected by this attack.
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The Miami-based tech giant in its statement has said that only 40 of its clients were affected by the ransomware as of now. Kaseya is working with the FBI to take the toll of the situation and regain control of its desktop management system. The Company refrained from giving further details such as affected customer's detail and unknowingly helped in spreading the malware.
As per The Washington Post, the attackers are sending 2 different types of messages for random, US$ 50,000 to smaller firms and US$ 5 million from large firms.
Second major cyberattack in last 2 months
In May this year, U.S.A witnessed a ransomware attack on its fuel pipeline company- Colonial Pipeline. The attack led to a closure of the pipeline and major fuel shortages on the east coast of the country. The extent of the attack was so severe that the President of the United States was personally monitoring the situation on the daily basis.
The U.S Administration had to declare a state of emergency and had to change the guidelines for fuel trucks engaged in supplying gas to the east coast. The regulations required that fuel trucks could operate during specific hours of the day, which were changed temporarily to provide relief to the people living on the east coast.
Also read: Cyberattack hits Colonial Pipeline, chokes US East Coast fuel supply
Swedish grocery chain forced to shut 800 stores
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The ransomware attacked the Kaseya’s desktop management tool VSA and sent across a malicious update infecting its tech management providers who serve thousands of businesses across the world. Swedish Coop grocery store chain had to shut down 800 stores throughout the country in the wake of the attacks.
The attack targeted the cash register remotely which affected the checkout till, leading to no payment acceptance. The attack was timed on Friday, over the weekend, when most of the tech employees are enjoying their scheduled weekend offs.
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The U.S President has ordered an investigation in the matter. FBI and U.S Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have started investigations and have urged the clients of Kaseya to shut down their systems immediately to control the spread of the malware.
