WASHINGTON: Kaseya, a ransomware-stricken IT firm, announced on Sunday that it had hired cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc to assist with the aftermath of a significant breach that has affected hundreds of firms around the world. Kaseya, based in Miami, said its workers “have been actively engaged with FireEye and other security assessment firms” to examine the attack, which began on Friday and quickly expanded throughout the world, in a notice posted to its website https://www.kaseya.com/potential-attack-on-kaseya-vsa.
According to Reuters, FireEye is collaborating with Kaseya.
The exact impact of the Kaseya hack is still being determined, in part because the vulnerable Kaseya software product is used by so-called managed service providers, which are companies that handle back-office IT tasks like deploying updates for other firms.
Because its cash registers are operated by Visma Esscom, which handles servers for a number of Swedish firms and uses Kaseya, the Swedish Coop grocery store chain had to close hundreds of outlets on Saturday.
According to one cybersecurity executive, his organization has been targeted by 350 customers.
“The two greatest regions we’ve observed are the United States and Germany,” said Ross McKerchar, Sophos Group Plc’s chief information security officer.
Schools, minor public-sector groups, travel and leisure organizations, credit unions, and accountants were among the targets, he claimed.
According to McKerchar, the surge of invasions demonstrated how tough it was for small enterprises to fight off increasingly well-funded cybercriminal gangs.
“When it comes to cybersecurity, small firms are outgunned,” he said./n
