Cognizant Under Ransomware Attack: ‘Maze’ Has Infected Cognizant’s Servers, Internet Systems

As if the Covid-19 pandemic wasn’t enough to disrupt the regular workings of technological giants in the country, it has been reported that the IT giant Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp was hit by a “Maze” ransomware cyberattack, on Friday night.

This needs to be attended in an emergency fashion because the IT giant serves clients all around the globe. Let’s learn more about this cyber attack and the steps undertaken by the company to combat against the ransomware.

The ‘Maze’ Ransomware

Before learning the problems that the Maze ransomware created for the ongoing activities of the IT company, let us understand what it is and how it attacks.

A ransomware is typically a type of malicious program used by hackers to take control of files in an infected system and then demand hefty payments to recover them. 

According to the cybersecurity firm McAfee, hackers who deploy Maze threaten to release information on the internet if the targeted companies fail to pay.

CTS is among one of the largest tech companies with 3 lakh employees and $15 bn in revenues manages IT backbone for several Fortune 500 companies.

How is Cognizant Combating against ‘Maze’?

Cognizant has about 200,000 employees based in India. This means it should readily take steps to contain the ransomeware, in order to not cause any furthermore disruptions.

In an ongoing communication with clients, the company has provided them with indicators of compromise (IOCs) and other technical information of a defensive nature.

It added that its internal security teams, supplemented by leading cyber defense firms are actively taking steps to contain this incident.

Cognizant has also engaged with the appropriate law enforcement authorities. The incident comes at a time when businesses have been disrupted by coronavirus pandemic that has forced companies to turn to initiatives like work from home to ensure business continuity.

The Maze operators denied responsibility for the cyber attack, according to the security website BleepingComputer. However, the report added that Maze is likely not discussing it to avoid complications at this early stage.