Explainer-How MOVEit breach shows hackers' interest in corporate file transfer tools

FILE PHOTO: A man types on a computer keyboard in front of the displayed cyber code in this illustration picture taken on March 1, 2017.REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration

(Reuters) - Ransom-seeking hackers have increasingly turned a greedy eye toward the world of managed file transfer (MFT) software, plundering the sensitive data being exchanged between organizations and their partners in a bid to win big payouts.

Governments and companies globally are scrambling to deal with the consequences of a mass compromise made public on Thursday that was tied to Progress Software Corp's MOVEit Transfer product. In 2021 Accellion Inc's File Transfer Appliance was exploited by hackers and earlier this year Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT was compromised to steal data from more than 100 companies.