Mass ransomware hack used IT software flaws, researchers say

Kaseya said its VSA product was the victim of a ‘sophisticated cyberattack’ and that it had notified the FBI. Kaseya has identified fewer than 40 customers impacted by the attack, adding that its cloud-based services weren’t impacted. — AFP

The hackers behind a mass ransomware attack exploited multiple previously unknown vulnerabilities in IT management software made by Kaseya Ltd, the latest sign of the skill and aggressiveness of the Russia-linked group believed responsible for the incidents, cybersecurity researchers said Sunday.

Marcus Murray, founder of Stockholm-based TrueSec Inc, said his firm’s investigations involving multiple victims in Sweden found that the hackers targeted them opportunistically. In those cases, the hackers used a previously unknown flaw in Miami-based Kaseya’s code to push ransomware to servers that used the software and were connected to the internet, he said.