From TechCrunch · Zack Whittaker · · 2m
Kiteworks warns of imminent cyberattack threat
File-transfer software maker Kiteworks urges customers to shut down servers after receiving credible threat intelligence from law enforcement about a potential attack.
In brief
File-transfer software maker Kiteworks urges customers to shut down servers after receiving credible threat intelligence from law enforcement about a potential attack. Kiteworks told customers to shut down their systems after law enforcement warned of an imminent cyberattack, citing concern about zero-day…
Kiteworks alerts customers to threat
Kiteworks, which makes tools for transferring large files and sensitive datasets over the internet, notified customers of a potential cyberattack threat after receiving credible intelligence from law enforcement.
Attack could happen this weekend
German publication Heise reported that Kiteworks sent customers an email warning of an imminent attack that could happen as soon as this weekend, urging them to shut down their systems.
Law enforcement alerted the company
Kiteworks chief information security officer Frank Balonis said the company received credible threat intelligence from law enforcement indicating a threat actor may attempt to target some Kiteworks systems for customers.
Concern about unknown vulnerabilities
Kiteworks warned customers about exploitation of zero-day flaws, vulnerabilities currently unknown to the company that give hackers time to exploit them before fixes can be developed and deployed.
“protect against any potential zero-day attacks”
Thousands of customers potentially affected
Kiteworks has thousands of customers across healthcare, technology, education, automotive, and government sectors. Security researcher Kevin Beaumont identified at least a thousand internet-facing Kiteworks systems online.
Healthcare operations disrupted
One healthcare customer who received the alert shut down their organization's server immediately. The outage is causing delays and disruption to doctors' ability to contact their patients.
History of major breaches
Before rebranding from Accellion in late twenty twenty-one, Kiteworks suffered a mass hack where a vulnerability allowed an extortion gang to steal data from hundreds of organizations relying on the product.
No confirmed breach yet
Kiteworks says it is not aware of any compromise of its systems and the advisory is preventative rather than a response to a confirmed breach. The FBI and CISA declined to comment on the threat.
“We are not aware of any compromise of Kiteworks systems, and this advisory is preventative rather than a response to a confirmed breach.”
The bottom line
Kiteworks told customers to shut down their systems after law enforcement warned of an imminent cyberattack, citing concern about zero-day vulnerabilities the company cannot yet fix.
