Security News > 2020 > January > Ransomware Attack Topples Telemarketing Firm, Leaving Hundreds Jobless

Ransomware Attack Topples Telemarketing Firm, Leaving Hundreds Jobless
2020-01-03 18:58

A ransomware attack reportedly caused an Arkansas-based telemarketing company to temporarily suspend its operations, leaving hundreds of employees unsure that they still had jobs days before Christmas.

The Heritage Company, a 61-year-old telemarketing firm that works with nonprofit organizations, sent a letter to its more than 300 employees saying it has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars due to the attack.

According to The Heritage Company CEO Sandra Franecke, who penned the letter, the company's servers were hit by a ransomware attack two months ago, after which it paid an undisclosed ransom to get systems back up and running.

In September California-based Wood Ranch Medical announced that it would shutter operations in December after the provider was unable to recover patient records on the heels of an August ransomware attack.

"But, there are tens of thousands of small business that are hit by ransomware every year. The Heritage Company and others that were forced to closed their doors because of ransomware attacks were unfortunate victims of a confluence of two trends: The increase in ransom demand, which is now in the six figures, and the refusal of newer ransomware actors, such as those behind the Maze and MegaCortex ransomware, to negotiate."


News URL

https://threatpost.com/ransomware-attack-topples-telemarketing-firm/151530/