Around 800 to 1,500 businesses around the world are affected by a ransomware attack on the U.S. IT company Kaseya, which provides software tools to IT outsourcing shops.
Fred Voccola, CEO of the Florida-based company, said in an interview that it was difficult to measure the exact impact of Friday’s attack because those affected were mostly customers of Kaseya customers.
One of those tools was undermined on Friday, allowing hackers to cripple hundreds of companies around the world.
The hackers, who claimed responsibility for the attack, have demanded $70 million to recover all the data of the affected companies, although they have indicated in private conversations with IT experts and journalists that they are willing to lower the ransom.
Voccola said he had spoken with officials from the White House, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security about the attack, but refused to say what they had told him about negotiations with the cybercriminals.
Experts expect the full impact of the hack to be felt on Tuesday when Americans return from their fourth holiday weekend in July.
Outside the United States, the biggest disruptions occurred in Sweden – where hundreds of Coop supermarkets had to close their doors because their tills were not working – and in New Zealand, where 11 schools and several kindergartens were severely affected.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.