IT Giant Cognizant Hit By Notorious ‘Maze’ Ransomware

The notorious Maze ransomware attack has hit US-based IT giant Cognizant. The company confirmed the attack today by releasing a statement on its website.

Cognizant is one of the most prominent IT consultation firms in the world, offering services in over 80 countries.

The ransomware attack has disrupted Cognizant’s internal systems and has also affected service disruptions for clients. The company mentioned that it has involved its internal security team as well as leading cybersecurity firms to contain the malware. Law enforcement authorities have also been asked to identify the perpetrators behind the attack.

Maze ransomware has a long history of attacking corporations and organizations. The ransomware encrypts the data and demands a hefty ransom in return. If the ransom is not paid, it publishes the stolen data.

According to Brett Callow, a threat analyst with Emsisoft, these days ransomware not only encrypts data but also steals a copy of it.

He says, “that trend was started by Maze at the tail end of last year, but multiple other groups have now hopped on that bandwagon. If the victims do not pay, they publish the data.” (via CRN)

Cognizant has said that the ransomware attack will lead to a loss of revenue. On top of that, the company will have to bear an incremental cost that’ll affect its financial results.

It is a very grim situation for the company that offers IT services as there are chances that it might have to pay the ransom. Even then, there is no guarantee that the ransomware operators won’t retain a copy of the data and use it later for monetization purposes.