News
Comment from Webroot: Sainsbury’s payroll hit by Kronos attack
December 2021 by Kelvin Murray, Senior Threat Researcher, at Carbonite + Webroot
Sainsbury’s is also affected by a cyber-attack on a payroll system provider. On Saturday, Kronos confirmed it was dealing with a ransomware attack on its computer systems. The supermarket chain is understood to have lost a week’s worth of data for its 150,000 UK employees. But it said they would be paid before Christmas.
The comment from Kelvin Murray, Senior Threat Researcher, Carbonite + Webroot, on this attack..
“It is unfortunate to see that this cyber-attack on the Kronos group has had a ripple effect on big companies across the country, including Sainsbury’s.
The timing of this attack is very interesting as it coincides with the most important payroll payout of the year. This is no coincidence, as ransomware crooks are always trying to make these attacks as disruptive as possible.
After the dust has settled on this attack, businesses need to check whether any data might be stolen and if it will be used in further attacks on companies and individuals. This is often the case in ransomware attacks and should be something Kronos will need to investigate.
Technology plays an essential role in any defence. As ransomware groups continue to be more inventive with the types of data and businesses they target, this should serve as a lesson to all organisations to keep adequate technical defences in place to ensure cyber resilience – including threat intelligence technologies, up-to-date software and operating systems.
Businesses should also have a good backup strategy, data recovery and roll back plans to alleviate the impact of any data loss. To further bolster defences, employee education will underscore an effective cybersecurity strategy and comprehensive best practice guides for passwords and system policies are critical to maintaining defences.”
