Security News > 2022 > January > QNAP force-installs update after DeadBolt ransomware hits 3,600 devices
QNAP force-updated customer's Network Attached Storage devices with firmware containing the latest security updates to protect against the DeadBolt ransomware, which has already encrypted over 3,600 devices.
On Tuesday, BleepingComputer reported on a new ransomware operation named DeadBolt that was encrypting Internet-exposed QNAP NAS devices worldwide.
QNAP owners and IT admins told BleepingComputer that QNAP forced this firmware update on devices even if automatic updates were disabled.
In response to numerous complaints about QNAP forcing a firmware update, a QNAP support representative replied, stating it was to protect users from the ongoing DeadBolt ransomware attacks.
What is unclear is why a forced update to the latest firmware would protect a device from the DeadBolt ransomware when QNAP initially said that reducing devices' exposure on the Internet would mitigate the attacks.
QNAP's move may have come too late as CronUP security researcher and Curated Intel member Germán Fernández discovered that DeadBolt had already encrypted thousands of QNAP devices.