US Businesses Hit by Colossal Ransomware Attack as Country Prepares for Independence Day Weekend

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 03 July 2021, 01:07 pm

The biggest ransomware attack to date has hit U.S. businesses. According to a cyber-security firm, around 200 businesses in the United States are affected.

U.S. Businesses Affected by Colossal Ransomware Attack

Huntress Labs said that the cyber-security firm said that the hack targeted a Florida-based IT company Kaseya before it slowly branched out to the corporate networks that use its software.

Kaseya released a statement following the cyber-attack and said that it is currently investigating the problem.

Huntress Labs believes that the Russia-linked REvil ransomware group, targeting U.S. businesses for months, was responsible.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency said that it is now taking the appropriate action to address the attack.

Also Read: Cybersecurity: REvil Ransomware Gang Strikes Again, Attacks FCUK Fashion Label

The ransomware attack happened on July 2 as companies across the United States were clocking off for the long weekend as the country prepares to celebrate its Independence Day on July 4.

According to The Washington Post, cyber-security professionals are now bracing for the impact of the ransomware attack as it will most likely ruin the holiday weekend for hundreds of I.T. teams in the U.S.

Ransomware is known as the scourge of the internet. Multiple organized criminal groups are constantly attempting to get access to the computer networks of corporations to hold them hostage.

Hijacking a victim's computer system takes a lot of time and effort, so now the criminals are looking for faster and more effective ways to execute their plan.

In this latest ransomware attack, the hackers showed that by going after the main software supplier of multiple corporations, they could hijack hundreds of victims in one go. This is called a supply chain attack, and it is now recorded as one of the biggest incidents involving ransomware so far.

The incident also shows that ransomware groups are looking for new and creative ways to impact and command the biggest ransom possible.

Kaseya said that one of its applications that runs the corporate serves, network devices, and desktop computers had been compromised in the attack.

The company is now urging its customers to use its VSA tool to shut down their servers as a preventive measure.

Kaseya also stated that a small number of companies had been affected, but Huntress Labs said that the number of companies hit by the attack was more than 200.

In an email sent to Reuters, Huntress Labs' senior security researcher John Hammond said that this devastating supply chain attack could take months before it gets resolved.

Warning to Russia

At a summit in Geneva, Switzerland, last month, U.S. President Joe Biden gave President Putin a list of 16 critical infrastructure sectors that should not be subject to hacking, including energy and water.

REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, is one of the most notorious cyber-criminal groups in the world. The FBI blamed the group for the JBS hack back in May. The operations at JBS, the world's largest meat supplier, were paralyzed due to the incident.

In June, REvil hacked Sol Oriens, the U.S. nuclear weapons contractor. This resulted in the selling of the company's employee data online.

If the victims don't comply with its demands, the group will threaten to post the stolen documents on its website, the Happy Blog.