Between 800 and 1,500 companies potentially affected by Kaseya ransomware attack
The hackers, believed to be Russia-linked, are demanding $70 million to restore systems
Well over 1,000 companies across the globe may have been affected by a ransomware attack that targeted software firm Kaseya, as hackers demand $70 million to undo the damage.
A spokesperson for Kaseya told FOX Business on Monday that less than 60 of its customers had been affected, but between 800 and 1,500 of those companies’ customers may have been reached.
As previously reported by FOX Business, the hackers targeted trusted support service providers in the hopes of penetrating customer networks. One of Kaseya’s tools was used to infect companies.
A spokesperson for Huntress Labs, the cybersecurity firm that is working with companies in response to the attack, told FOX Business that it is tracking more than 30 managed service providers across the U.S., European Union, Australia and Latin America where the tool was used to target "well over 1,000 businesses."
Experts at Huntress said they "strongly" believe the ransomware attack was spearheaded by REvil/Sodinikibi. REvil is the group that was named as responsible for another massive attack on critical U.S. infrastructure earlier this year.
While the hackers have demanded $70 million to restore systems, Reuters reported on Monday that they were willing to negotiate.
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The team at Kaseya has said they have been able to replicate the attack vector and are working on distributing a patch. The company also said they are working with the FBI.
President Biden over the weekend said it wasn’t yet clear whether the Russians were behind the attack, but he noted that he warned Russian President Vladimir Putin the U.S. would respond appropriately when necessary.