A ransomware attack on Econsult, a large consulting firm in Philadelphia, is reported to have exposed the personal information of employees.
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Econsult Solutions, a financial analysis and consulting firm, whose clients include the City of Philadelphia, Pew Charitable Trusts, and other major institutions in the area, is reported to have suffered a data breach that exposed its employees' financial information to hackers.
According to internal messages shared with Billy Penn, the company's data is being held for ransom.
Current Econsult employees appear to have received an email from management regarding an “incident” that exposed company data, including some employees’ 2022 W-2s with Social Security numbers , according to the email.
It is currently unclear whether data generated through the company's many partnerships, including those with city and state governments, has been exposed in the ransomware.
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Wendy Gabriele, Chief Administrative Officer and Treasurer of Econsult, said that she cannot go into details due to the company's ongoing investigation, but shared the following statement:
“Earlier this month, ESI discovered a cybersecurity incident that temporarily impacted some of network . We have initiated an investigation and are working diligently, with the assistance of external experts, to determine the nature and scope of information that may have been compromised.”
What is eConsult
Econsult Solutions, founded in 1979, initially focused on providing expertise and legal support for financial matters, according to the company's website, ranging from employment disputes to damage analysis in personal injury and wrongful death cases.
Subsequently, the focus shifted to consulting, research, and policy analysis, according to the website. Quantitative and qualitative risk assessment, scenario analysis, market research, demographic analysis and others now fall within the company's remit.
Among its prominent clients are, among others, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (the principal owners of the 76ers), SEPTA, PennDOT, the city of Newark, and Amtrak.
The data is being held for ransom
When Econsult Management notified employees about the situation, according to the screenshots shared with Billy Penn, they noted that the hackers had “put a reverse clock” on the information before it spread to unpleasant parts of the internet. From the sending of the email, management informed the recipients that the company had 12 days to pay the ransom.
This makes it a typical ransomware scenario, where hackers steal critical information, prove they have it on the victim, and then offer it back for a fee. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has noted that such cyberattacks are on the rise and becoming more sophisticated.
A 2022 report from the organization describes trends among ransomware hackers, including an increased emphasis on phishing, exploiting cloud services, sharing victim information with other hackers, and targeting small and medium-sized companies instead of large corporations
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It is not known how many Econsult employee data were affected by the current attack.
That remains to be seen, but Econsult is working with a cybersecurity firm and has already moved to protect the exposed employees.
Source of information: billypenn.com
