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.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
