The systems of SEPE, the Spanish government agency for labour, were taken down following a Ryuk ransomware attack affecting more than 700 agencies.
The systems of SEPE, the Spanish government agency for labour, were taken down following a Ryuk ransomware attack affecting more than 700 agencies.
“Currently, work is being done to restore priority services as soon as possible, among which is the portal of the State Public Employment Service and then gradually other services to citizens, companies, benefit and employment offices," an announcement on the agency's website.
“The application deadlines for benefits are extended by as many days as the applications are out of service. In no case will this situation affect the rights of applicants for benefits."
Gerardo Guiterrez, the SEPE director, confirmed that Ryuk ransomware operators encrypted the agency’s network systems after the incident.
He also confirmed that personal data, unemployment benefits and payroll we're not affected after the ransomware attack.
According to CSIF (the Central Sindical Independiente y de Funcionarios), the attack has caused hundreds of thousands of appointments made through the agency throughout Spain to be delayed.
The attack had spread beyond SEPE’s workstations and reached the agency’s remote working staff’s laptops.
Ryuk is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) that has been active since August 2018 and is known for running a private affiliate program.
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