Major ransomware attack against U.S. tech provider forces Swedish store closures

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed Cyber word standing on PC motherboard is seen in this illustration picture, October 26, 2017. Picture taken October 26, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -One of the largest ransomware attacks in history spread worldwide on Saturday, forcing the Swedish Coop grocery store chain to close all 800 of its stores because it could not operate its cash registers.

The shutdown of the major food retailer followed Friday's unusually sophisticated attack on U.S. tech provider Kaseya. The ransomware gang known as REvil is suspected of hijacking Kaseya's desktop management tool VSA and pushing a malicious update that infect tech management providers serving thousands of business.