Camera giant Olympus hit by ransomware attack
Olympus has reportedly become the latest victim of ransomware newbie DarkMatter
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Famous camera makerOlympusclaims it is investigating “a potentialcybersecurityincident” that’s affected its computers across the European, Middle East and Africa regions.
However, an anonymous source familiar with the incident toldTechCrunchthat Olympus is grappling with aransomwareattack that began on September 8, 2021.
Interestingly, the source shared details about the incident withTechCrunchprior to Olympus acknowledging the incident.
We’re looking at how our readers use VPNs with streaming sites like Netflix so we can improve our content and offer better advice. This survey won’t take more than 60 seconds of your time, and we’d hugely appreciate if you’d share your experiences with us.
Click here to start the survey in a new window«
“We are currently working to determine the extent of the issue and will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused,”readOlympus’ official statement.
A victim of BlackMatter?
In its statement put out on Saturday, 11 September, Olympus did acknowledge that it first detected “suspicious activity” on September 8. Once alerted, the company claims its specialized response team was quick to act, and is working with forensics experts to help resolve the issue.
“As part of the investigation, we have suspended data transfers in the affected systems and have informed the relevant external partners,” Olympus informs.
The anonymous source however shared withTechCrunchthe ransomware note left behind by the Olympus attackers.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
Decrypting the purported note, ransomware expert and threat analyst atEmsisoft, Brett Callow, believes the attack seems to be orchestrated by BlackMatter.
BlackMatter is a new ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) threat actor, which the cybersecurity community claims to have risen from the ashes of the notorious DarkSide RaaS operator.
Emsisoft has alsofound technical linksbetween Darkside and BlackMatter, which has apparently chalked up over 40 victimssince its appearanceearlier this year in June, 2021.
Olympus didn’t immediately respond to our email asking for confirmation whether it has indeed been the target of a BlackMatter campaign.
ViaTechCrunch
With almost two decades of writing and reporting on Linux, Mayank Sharma would like everyone to think he’sTechRadar Pro’sexpert on the topic. Of course, he’s just as interested in other computing topics, particularly cybersecurity, cloud, containers, and coding.
Phishing attacks surge in 2024 as cybercriminals adopt AI tools and multi-channel tactics
This new phishing strategy utilizes GitHub comments to distribute malware
Smeg Combi Steam Oven review: a multi-functional countertop oven that looks stunning and cooks well
