Security News > 2021 > December > Just in time for Christmas, Kronos payroll and HR cloud software goes offline due to ransomware
We're experiencing yet another incident in which cyberattacks can affect the real world: UKG, makers of payroll and HR software, have reported a ransomware attack that has taken its Kronos Private Cloud offline, and may result in it staying that way for weeks to come.
In a statement about the outage, UKG said that it has no estimated time of resolution, that its backups aren't available until they "Determine the best approach" to restoration.
That's the tech equivalent of "Fix bayonets," and it's bad news not only for Kronos customers but the future of UKG as well, largely because there is a difference between an outage due to uncontrollable factors, like severe weather, and a malware incident, said Forrester security and risk analyst Allie Mellen.
The official line from UKG is that its investigation is ongoing, but the City of Cleveland told a local news station that UKG told it that the attack "May have compromised some employees' first and last names, addresses, last four SSN digits and employee ID," Cleveland's WKYC reported.
UKG itself has admitted that it is in uncharted waters, and it's telling customers to "Evaluate and implement alternative business continuity protocols related to the affected UKG solutions."
As TechRepublic parent company TechnologyAdvice's Tamara Scott writes, businesses will need, at a minimum, "a human resources information system to gather addresses, banking and contact information; a time tracking and scheduling software to recreate schedules; and a payroll system to get their employees paid."