Olympus, a leading medical technology company, was forced to “close” its IT systems in America (USA, Canada and Latin America) after a cyberattack that hit its network on Sunday, October 10, 2021.
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“With the detection of suspicious activity, we immediately mobilized a specialized response team, including forensic experts, and we are currently working with absolute priority on resolving this issue”, says Olympus in a statement published today, two days after the attack.
“As part of the investigation and containment, we have suspended the affected systems and notified relevant external partners.”
The company did not disclose whether customer or company data was stolen during the “potential cyber security incident”, but said it will provide new information about the attack as soon as it is available.
“We are working with appropriate third parties for this situation and will continue to take all necessary measures to safely serve our customers and our business partners,” added Olympus.
“The protection of our customers and partners and the maintenance of their trust in us is our highest priority.”
See also: Ransomware operators arrested in Ukraine
In September the company suffered a BlackMatter ransomware attack
This incident follows a ransomware attack that hit Olympus' EMEA ( Europe , Middle East, Africa) IT systems in early September
Although Olympus did not disclose information regarding the identity of the attackers, the ransom notes found on the affected systems revealed that the BlackMatter ransomware operators coordinated the attack.
The same ransom notes also displayed a Tor website that the BlackMatter group had previously used to communicate with their victims.
Although Olympus, once again, did not disclose many details about the nature of the attack that hit the IT systems of America, ransomware gangs are known to carry out their attacks on weekends and holidays to delay detection.
The FBI and CISA reported in a joint advisory published in August that they “have observed an increase in ransomware attacks occurring on holidays and weekends – when offices are typically closed.”
See also: New Python ransomware: Encrypts system within three hours
Olympus has over 31,000 employees worldwide and more than 100 years of history in the development of medical, life science and industrial equipment.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
