Website security audit specialists reported a malware infection at Wolters Kluwer, a widely used accounting and tax payment software platform; this incident has made it impossible for users to work with this software. In addition, there is concern about the state of security of tax returns and other financial details stored in the company’s cloud.
This software is used by the 100 most recognized
accounting firms of the United States and by more than 90% of the world’s major
banks. Many services and functions of the company have remained inactive since
Monday of this week, leaving various organizations in a difficult situation, as
the deadlines for paying taxes are getting closer and closer.
The company has not confirmed how many
customers have been affected by the incident, although website security audit
specialists claim that the problems are of considerable magnitude and keep
affecting users. An executive of a well-known accounting firm, who has
requested anonymity, claims that the attack has put his company in a critical
situation.
A spokesperson for the company stated: “We
try to maintain a very close working relationship with our clients and we are
aware of the inconvenience that this incident has generated. We work hard to
restore the normal operations of our platform and consider that the recovery
process will be satisfactory for all users”. The spokesperson added that
Wolters Kluwer works in conjunction with the authorities and third party
website security audit experts.
The attack would have started on the morning of
Monday, May 6, report specialists from the International Institute of Cyber
Security (IICS) and, although the spokesperson mentioned that it is not
possible to provide technical details about the incident, experts say that this
attack shows characteristics similar to those identified in the NotPetya
ransomware attacks.
As a security measure, the company disconnected
some of its systems trying to stop the spread of the infection throughout its
network; the companies concerned are in the expectation of knowing the support
plan of Wolters Kluwer in order to comply with their tax duties.
