The cloud service was attacked with encryption software and operations were affected. Customer data is not affected, according to the company.
What happened?
On May 1, web hosting provider Swiss Cloud Computing informed that it has become the victim of a ransomware attack. The incident started on April 27th and had a serious impact on the company’s server infrastructure. The company said in an official statement on Monday that functionality is not yet back to normal operating levels.
What are the risks to my business from the attack on Swiss Cloud?
One of the most prominent customers affected by the Swiss Cloud outage is Sage, a company that provides payroll and HR software for German-speaking countries. Swiss Cloud said that individual services are now being brought back online step by step. There are still no indications that customer data has been leaked.
On risks associated with attacks on cloud services in general
Cloud services – which many customers access in real time to store, retrieve or manage data – are particularly lucrative targets for attackers. Encryption of their infrastructure directly impacts customers, increasing the pressure to quickly restore operational services. When attacking your own cloud service, be aware of the risks:
- Potential theft of data from the cloud.
- Disruption of service.
- Loss of cloud-based backups.
What can I do?
If you are a Swiss Cloud or Sage customer, we recommend that you track updates on their websites. Swiss Cloud will provide the next update by May 6th.
We also recommend that you store your backup data on a separate, external drive, not just in the cloud. At the moment, there is no indication that customer data has been compromised. Should the situation change, Swiss Cloud will publish a new Mitigation Advisory and inform affected customers.