Published Date: 2021-07-02
| Postmortem Analysis | |
|---|---|
| Timeline | 1. The software failure incident happened in July 2021 [116320, 116852, 116896]. 2. The incident occurred in July 2021 based on the articles published in July 2021. |
| System | 1. IT management system known as the Virtual System Administrator (VSA) [116320, 116585, 116756, 116765, 116778, 116805, 116807, 116808, 116829, 116852, 116853, 116878, 116892, 116896, 117331] 2. VSA tool [116585, 116756, 116778, 116829] 3. VSA software [116853] 4. Tech-management software from Kaseya [116805, 116896] 5. Corporate servers, desktop computers, and network devices managed by Kaseya [116829] |
| Responsible Organization | 1. The Russia-linked REvil ransomware gang was responsible for the software failure incident [Article 116585, Article 116756, Article 116765]. 2. The hackers who struck on Friday, particularly the REvil gang, were behind the hack [Article 116807, Article 117331]. |
| Impacted Organization | 1. Kaseya [116321, 116585, 116765, 116778, 116780, 116805, 116807, 116829, 116852, 116853, 116878, 116892, 116896, 117331] 2. Coop shops in Sweden [116585, 116878] 3. Small businesses such as restaurants and accounting firms [116780, 116852] 4. Dentists’ offices [116778] 5. Schools and kindergartens in New Zealand [116807] 6. Railway, pharmacy chain, and grocery chain in Sweden [116878] |
| Software Causes | 1. The failure incident was caused by a software supply chain attack on the remote management tool NetSarang in 2017, which allowed hackers to breach the Korean company behind the software and hide their own backdoor code [Article 116746]. 2. The recent failure incident was due to a ransomware attack that exploited a software vulnerability in Kaseya's VSA software, allowing the REvil criminal group to encrypt the files of hundreds of businesses [Article 116321, Article 116805, Article 116852, Article 116853]. 3. The incident was exacerbated by the fact that security researchers had identified an underlying vulnerability in the Kaseya update system, but the patches had not been deployed in time before the attack occurred [Article 116756]. 4. The failure incident involved the compromise of IT management software from Kaseya, leading to the encryption of files of providers' customers, highlighting a colossal and devastating supply chain attack [Article 116805, Article 116896]. |
| Non-software Causes | 1. The failure incident was caused by a ransomware attack that compromised tech-management software from a company called Kaseya, affecting as many as 1,500 organizations [Article 117904]. 2. The attack was a supply-chain attack on software company Kaseya, affecting hundreds of companies directly and indirectly [Article 116878]. 3. The attack was not directly targeted at the supermarket but was part of a larger attack on a software supplier used indirectly by the supermarket and other organizations [Article 116585]. 4. The attack involved hackers hijacking widely used technology management software from Kaseya, changing a tool called VSA, and encrypting the files of providers' customers [Article 116805]. 5. The attack paralyzed hundreds of businesses on all five continents, affecting small concerns like dentists' offices, accountants, supermarkets, schools, and kindergartens [Article 116803, Article 116892]. 6. The attack affected organizations in about a dozen different countries, demonstrating the global impact of the incident [Article 116803]. |
| Impacts | 1. The software failure incident affected about 200 businesses in a "colossal" ransomware attack, mainly in the US [116585]. 2. Between 800 and 1,500 businesses were compromised by the ransomware attack, causing disruption globally [116780, 116852]. 3. Hundreds of supermarkets in Sweden had to close due to inoperative cash registers, and schools and kindergartens in New Zealand were knocked offline [116803, 116807, 116892]. 4. The attack paralyzed hundreds of businesses on all five continents, impacting small concerns like dentists' offices and accountants [116803, 116892]. 5. The disruption was felt more keenly in Sweden and New Zealand, with significant impacts on supermarkets and educational institutions [116803, 116892]. 6. The attack affected a wide array of businesses and public agencies globally, including financial services and travel sectors [117331]. 7. The incident led to a race among criminals looking for similar vulnerabilities, according to cybersecurity experts [117904]. |
| Preventions | 1. Faster deployment of patches and fixes for identified vulnerabilities could have prevented the software failure incident [116320, 116756]. 2. Improved monitoring and readiness to shut down vulnerable systems could have helped prevent the incident [116746]. 3. Understanding the power of remote management tools in the wrong hands and being prepared to react swiftly could have mitigated the impact of the incident [116746]. 4. Shutting down servers immediately upon receiving alerts about potential attacks could have limited the spread of the incident [116778, 116808]. 5. Enhanced security measures such as two-factor authentication could have prevented the attack [116896]. |
| Fixes | 1. Implementing patches quickly to address vulnerabilities [116320, 116321] 2. Developing and deploying fixes for identified vulnerabilities in a timely manner [116756] 3. Understanding the power of remote management tools and being prepared to react swiftly to limit the impact [116746] 4. Shutting down affected servers and infrastructure to prevent further spread of the attack [116778, 116808, 116896] 5. Conducting a thorough investigation to understand the root cause of the incident [116765, 117331] | References | 1. Gevers (DIVD) [Article 116320] 2. Huntress Labs [Article 116585] 3. Kaseya [Article 116585, Article 116746, Article 116765, Article 116766, Article 116778, Article 116805, Article 116807, Article 116808, Article 116852, Article 116868, Article 116878, Article 116892, Article 117331] 4. Gustav Ceder [Article 116585] 5. Fred Voccola (Kaseya's chief executive) [Article 116765, Article 116766, Article 116778, Article 116805, Article 116808, Article 116892, Article 117331] 6. John Hammond (Huntress Labs researcher) [Article 116765] 7. James Shank (threat intelligence analyst) [Article 116805] 8. Doug Schmidt (computer science professor at Vanderbilt University) [Article 116807] 9. Palo Alto Networks [Article 116868] 10. Ross McKerchar (chief information security officer at Sophos) [Article 117331] 11. Associated Press reporters Jim Heintz and Jan Olsen [Article 117331] |
| Category | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring | one_organization, multiple_organization | (a) one_organization: The software failure incident has happened again at Kaseya. The incident involved a ransomware attack that paralyzed as many as 1,500 organizations by compromising Kaseya's tech-management software [Article 117904]. (b) multiple_organization: The incident involving the ransomware attack on Kaseya affected not only Kaseya itself but also a large number of organizations indirectly. Cyber researchers reported that about 200 businesses were hit by this "colossal" ransomware attack, mainly affecting the US [Article 116585]. Additionally, the incident impacted hundreds of businesses worldwide, including a Swedish grocery chain and other organizations [Article 116765]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) | design, operation | (a) The software failure incident occurring due to the development phases: - Researchers identified vulnerabilities in the IT management system known as the Virtual System Administrator (VSA) developed by Kaseya [116320]. - Security researchers had identified a vulnerability in the Kaseya update system, and patches were being developed but had not been deployed before the attack occurred [116756]. - The incident involved a ransomware attack that affected 800 to 1,500 businesses due to a security vulnerability at IT software-maker Kaseya [116868]. - The attack on Kaseya's IT management tool was part of a troubling trend where hackers target the entire class of tools that administrators use to remotely manage IT systems [116746]. - The incident highlighted the importance of securely configuring and managing systems used to manage many different devices, as attackers find such systems alluring [116746]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to the operation phases: - The attack on Kaseya's IT management tool affected less than 40 customers, including managed service providers who provide security and tech tools to multiple companies, magnifying the severity of the attack [116765]. - The incident affected at least a dozen IT support firms that rely on Kaseya's remote management tool, impacting not only Kaseya's IT management customers but also their corporate clients who outsource IT management [116778]. - The attack on Kaseya's software led to a mass ransomware incident affecting more than a thousand companies, highlighting the importance of securely operating and managing systems that have administrative control over multiple devices [116746]. - The incident caused a Swedish railway and a pharmacy chain to be affected, requiring physical visits to fix the problems caused by the hack [116766]. - The attack on Kaseya's software led to a race against time for customers to address other security vulnerabilities, such as a dangerous Microsoft bug affecting software for print jobs, due to the compromised state of their systems [116805]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) | within_system, outside_system | (a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the Kaseya VSA ransomware attack was primarily due to vulnerabilities within the system itself. Researchers identified seven vulnerabilities in the IT management system known as the Virtual System Administrator (VSA) [116320]. Attackers exploited these vulnerabilities to distribute a malicious payload to vulnerable VSA servers, affecting the VSA agent applications running on customers' Windows devices [116756]. Kaseya had to shift its efforts from root-cause analysis and mitigating the vulnerability to executing a service recovery plan [116756]. (b) outside_system: The software failure incident was also influenced by contributing factors originating from outside the system. The attack on Kaseya's IT management tool was part of a troubling trend where hackers are increasingly targeting the entire class of tools that administrators use to remotely manage IT systems [116746]. The incident affected not only Kaseya's IT management customers but also the corporate clients of those companies that had outsourced IT management to them [116778]. Additionally, the attack occurred at the start of a major holiday in the US when most corporate IT teams were not fully staffed, complicating the response and leaving organizations unable to address other security vulnerabilities [116805]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) | non-human_actions, human_actions | (a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions: - The software failure incident involving a ransomware attack on Kaseya's IT management tool was a result of hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in the software, allowing them to compromise hundreds of businesses globally [116746, 116805]. - The attack on Kaseya's software led to the paralysis of numerous organizations across different continents, impacting various sectors such as supermarkets, schools, and pharmacies [116803, 116892]. - The incident highlighted the vulnerability of software supply chains, with attackers targeting tools used for remote management and exploiting them to gain control over networks [116746]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions: - The ransomware attack on Kaseya's software was attributed to the Russia-linked REvil ransomware gang, indicating human involvement in orchestrating the attack [116585]. - The incident resulted in disruptions to businesses and organizations, with the hackers expressing no remorse for the impact caused, emphasizing the intentional nature of the attack [116803, 116892]. - Kaseya's CEO acknowledged that cyberattacks are inevitable, suggesting a recognition of human factors contributing to such incidents [116766]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) | software | (a) The articles do not provide information about the software failure incident occurring due to hardware-related factors. (b) The software failure incident reported in the articles is primarily due to contributing factors that originate in software. For example, the incident involved a ransomware attack that targeted IT management software like Kaseya VSA, leading to the encryption of files in hundreds of businesses [116321, 116585, 116746, 116765, 116805, 116807, 116808, 116829, 116868, 116878, 116892, 116896, 117904]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) | malicious | (a) malicious: The software failure incident was malicious in nature as it involved a ransomware attack that paralyzed as many as 1,500 organizations by compromising tech-management software from Kaseya [Article 117904]. The attackers exploited a vulnerability to distribute a malicious payload to vulnerable VSA servers, impacting the VSA agent applications running on customers' Windows devices [Article 116756]. The incident involved hackers targeting systems typically used to protect customers from malicious software, adding complexity to recovery efforts [Article 116807]. (b) non-malicious: There is no information in the provided articles indicating a non-malicious software failure incident. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) | poor_decisions | (a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor_decisions: - The incident involving the ransomware attack on Kaseya's IT management software was a result of poor decisions, such as the failure to address security vulnerabilities promptly and effectively [116320, 116321, 116746, 116765, 116805, 116807, 116808, 116829, 116868, 117904]. (b) The intent of the software failure incident related to accidental_decisions: - The incident involving the ransomware attack on Kaseya's IT management software was not accidental but rather a deliberate attack orchestrated by cybercriminals [116320, 116321, 116746, 116765, 116805, 116807, 116808, 116829, 116868, 117904]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) | development_incompetence | (a) The software failure incident occurring due to development incompetence: - The incident involving the ransomware attack on Kaseya's IT management software was a result of a vulnerability in the software that was exploited by hackers, leading to the compromise of numerous businesses [Article 116321]. - The incident highlighted the importance of companies investing in internal security and staffing in addition to vulnerability disclosure programs and bug bounties to strengthen digital security [Article 116320]. - The attack on Kaseya's software was described as a supply chain attack, indicating a level of sophistication and targeting of the software itself [Article 116896]. (b) The software failure incident occurring accidentally: - The hackers' representative described the disruption in New Zealand as an "accident," suggesting that the impact on certain organizations was not intentional [Article 116803]. - The disruption caused by the attack on Kaseya's software led to the closure of supermarkets in Sweden and affected organizations in about a dozen different countries, with the representative of the hackers showing no regret for the disruption in Sweden [Article 116892]. |
| Duration | temporary | (a) The software failure incident in the articles was temporary as it was caused by certain circumstances and not permanent. The incident was described as a ransomware attack that paralyzed organizations using tech-management software from Kaseya [Article 117904]. Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola mentioned that the company's SaaS customers were "never at risk" and that service was expected to be restored within 24 hours [Article 116321]. Additionally, Kaseya was working on a patch for on-premises customers who could be potential targets [Article 116321]. (b) The incident was temporary as the company was actively working on addressing the vulnerability and releasing patches to mitigate the impact. Voccola mentioned that efforts had shifted from root-cause analysis to executing a service recovery plan [Article 116756]. The company believed it had identified the source of the vulnerability and was working on releasing a patch quickly to get customers back up and running [Article 116805]. |
| Behaviour | omission, value, other | (a) crash: - Article 116829 mentions a software failure incident involving ransomware and a supply chain attack that resulted in a significant impact on multiple organizations, potentially being the biggest incident involving ransomware yet. - Article 116878 reports that hundreds of companies, including a railway, pharmacy chain, and grocery chain in Sweden, were directly hit by the supply-chain attack on software company Kaseya, leading to a situation where servers had to be taken offline. (b) omission: - Article 116320 discusses a case where a vulnerability in a software tool was not mitigated in time, leading to many victims being affected. - Article 116805 highlights that the attack on Kaseya left organizations racing against time to address critical bugs and get updates out on other vulnerabilities. (c) timing: - Article 116320 mentions a case where the failure to mitigate a danger in time resulted in many victims being affected. - Article 116805 points out that the attack on Kaseya happened at a time when many corporate IT teams were not fully staffed, impacting the response to security vulnerabilities. (d) value: - Article 116807 describes a hack where the bad actors targeted systems typically used to protect customers from malicious software, resulting in a significant impact. - Article 116808 mentions that a small number of on-premise customers potentially were affected by the incident, indicating incorrect functioning of the software. (e) byzantine: - No specific mention of a byzantine behavior in the provided articles. (f) other: - Article 116746 discusses the exploitation of remote management tools by hackers, leading to challenges in distinguishing between expected behavior and malicious activity. - Article 116868 talks about the importance of reporting security incidents promptly to align with company security policies and avoid potential consequences for employees. |
| Layer | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Perception | None | None |
| Communication | None | None |
| Application | None | None |
| Category | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Consequence | basic, property, delay, non-human, theoretical_consequence, other | (a) death: There is no mention of people losing their lives due to the software failure incident in the provided articles. (b) harm: There is no mention of people being physically harmed due to the software failure incident in the provided articles. (c) basic: The software failure incident impacted people's access to food or shelter. For example, in Sweden, hundreds of supermarkets had to close because their cash registers were inoperative, affecting people's ability to purchase food [Article 116803]. (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data were impacted due to the software failure incident. For instance, businesses were affected by the ransomware attack, potentially leading to financial losses and data breaches [Article 116766, Article 116852]. (e) delay: People had to postpone activities due to the software failure incident. For example, schools and kindergartens in New Zealand were knocked offline, impacting educational activities [Article 116803]. (f) non-human: Non-human entities were impacted due to the software failure incident. For instance, businesses, supermarkets, schools, and kindergartens experienced disruptions in their operations [Article 116803, Article 116892]. (g) no_consequence: There were observed consequences of the software failure incident, such as businesses being affected, supermarkets closing, and schools being offline. (h) theoretical_consequence: There were discussions about potential consequences of the software failure incident that did not occur, such as the possibility of the attack having a more significant impact than initially estimated [Article 116852]. (i) other: The software failure incident led to a significant disruption in various countries, affecting a wide range of organizations beyond just the directly impacted businesses. The incident highlighted the vulnerability of supply chain attacks and the potential for widespread consequences [Article 116829, Article 116878, Article 117331]. |
| Domain | information, transportation, sales, utilities, finance, health | (a) The software failure incident affected the information industry, particularly impacting businesses like Coop supermarkets in Sweden, where cash registers were rendered inoperative, and schools and kindergartens in New Zealand were knocked offline [Article 116803, Article 116805, Article 116892, Article 117331]. (b) The transportation industry was indirectly affected by the attack on a large software supplier, impacting a railway in Sweden [Article 116878]. (d) The sales industry was impacted as businesses like Coop supermarkets in Sweden had to close due to their cash registers being inoperative [Article 116803, Article 116892]. (g) The utilities industry was affected as businesses like Coop supermarkets in Sweden had to close because their cash registers were inoperative, and state railways and a major pharmacy chain were also affected [Article 116805]. (h) The finance industry was indirectly impacted by the attack on a large software supplier, affecting a pharmacy chain in Sweden [Article 116878]. (j) The health industry was indirectly affected by the attack on a large software supplier, impacting a pharmacy chain in Sweden [Article 116878]. (m) The software failure incident was not directly related to any other industry mentioned in the options. |
Article ID: 116878
Article ID: 116320
Article ID: 116829
Article ID: 117331
Article ID: 116852
Article ID: 117904
Article ID: 116808
Article ID: 116756
Article ID: 120062
Article ID: 121194
Article ID: 116765
Article ID: 116766
Article ID: 116807
Article ID: 116896
Article ID: 116778
Article ID: 116853
Article ID: 120779
Article ID: 116868
Article ID: 116321
Article ID: 116585
Article ID: 116746
Article ID: 116805
Article ID: 116780
Article ID: 116892
Article ID: 116803
Article ID: 116897