Security News > 2021 > August > Ransomware attack hits Italy's Lazio region, affects COVID-19 site
The Lazio region in Italy has suffered a reported ransomware attack that has disabled the region's IT systems, including the COVID-19 vaccination registration portal.
Early Sunday morning, the Lazio region suffered a ransomware attack that encrypted every file in its data center and disrupted its IT network.
"On the night between Saturday and Sunday the Regione Lazio suffered a first cyber attack of criminal matrix. We don't know who is responsible and their goals," Nicola Zingaretti, the President of the Lazio region, said in a statement on Facebook.
While ransomware gangs are known to steal data during an attack as leverage in extortion attempts, the region states that health, financial, and budget data are safe.
"There is a powerful hacking attack on regional ced. The systems are all disabled including all of the Salute Lazio portal and the vaccine network. All defense and verification operations are under way to avoid the misappropriation. Vaccination operations may experience delays," the region said in a statement.
Today, sources have told BleepingComputer that the cyber attack on Lazio was conducted by a ransomware operation known as RansomEXX. In a redacted ransom note shared from the attack on Lazio, the threat actors state, "Hello, Lazio!" and warn the region that their files were encrypted.
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