Key facts
- Kiteworks is urging customers to shut down their servers due to an "imminent" cyberattack threat.
- The company received credible threat intelligence from law enforcement about the potential attack.
- Kiteworks recommended a precautionary shutdown window while it investigates with law enforcement partners.
- The company is not aware of any compromise of its systems.
- Kiteworks is concerned about the exploitation of unknown zero-day vulnerabilities.
- The company has fixed all known vulnerabilities in its latest software release, 9.5.1.
Technology company Kiteworks has alerted its customers to a potential cyberattack, advising them to shut down their systems as a precautionary measure. The company, formerly known as Accellion, provides tools for transferring large files and sensitive data. Kiteworks chief information security officer Frank Balonis confirmed that the company received credible threat intelligence from law enforcement indicating that a threat actor may attempt to target some Kiteworks systems.
Balonis stated that the advisory is preventative and that Kiteworks is not aware of any compromise of its systems. The company is working with law enforcement partners to address the matter. Kiteworks is particularly concerned about the potential exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities, which are flaws unknown to the vendor and thus unpatched. The company has released software version 9.5.1, which it recommends all customers use, and states it has fixed all known vulnerabilities.
Kiteworks has thousands of customers across various sectors including healthcare, technology, education, automotive, and government. The exact number of affected customers is unclear. This advisory follows a past incident where a vulnerability in Kiteworks' (then Accellion's) file-transfer application was exploited by an extortion gang, leading to a mass hack of hundreds of organizations.