Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), a leading provider of workforce management software, whose HR management solutions are used by a who’s who of corporations and organizations, experienced a ransomware attack last December.
Kronos Private Cloud Hack Impacted Public Entities
In December 2021, Kronos revealed that it had been the victim of a ransomware attack, leading to its customers’ payroll systems being taken down and employee data compromised.
So, its customers turned on Kronos.
Some of its customers had to resort to contingency arrangements to pay their staff, such as going back to paper checks. Millions of employees were left in administrative limbo, unable to access payroll systems due to the outages.
The ransomware attack targeted Kronos Private Cloud solutions, a data storage site for several of the firm’s services, including UKG Workforce Central, which employees utilize to track hours and manage shifts.
“We took immediate action to investigate and mitigate the issue, have alerted our affected customers and informed the authorities, and are working with leading cybersecurity experts. We recognize the seriousness of the issue and have mobilized all available resources to support our customers and are working diligently to restore the affected services,” a spokesperson said in a statement issued to NPR.
Kronos’ Business Continuity Plans Were Insufficient
Kronos might have been able to avoid this PR nightmare if it had heeded the warnings of its customers and taken steps to secure its systems.
The Kronos attack was a wake-up call for many organizations like Puma, Tesla, and the NFL, who had come to rely on Kronos for their payroll needs. It has led some to question whether Kronos is really the best solution for them.
After all, if Kronos can’t keep its systems secure, how can its customers be confident that their data will be safe?
And when people understand that entire council municipalities rely on Kronos to keep their data safe, the Kronos attack becomes even more worrying.
The Kronos Ransomware Attack Was a Real Eye-Opener
It showed that no organization is safe from cyberattacks, no matter how big or small.
It also showed that Kronos is not the invincible god of time it once seemed to be.
Kronos started life as a manufacturer of time clocks and time-keeping software. But in recent years, it has become much more than that. Kronos now provides payroll and HR solutions to some of the biggest organizations in the world.
So when Kronos was hit by ransomware from an as-yet undeclared source, it sent shockwaves through the business world.
Disaster Recovery Plans Offset the Threat of Cyber Attacks
Disaster recovery plans are vital for any organization, no matter how big or small. But it seems that Kronos did not have a plan for this data breach.
It is still unclear exactly how much data was stolen and what the hackers now have access to.
The data breach at Kronos is a reminder that no organization is safe from cyberattacks. It also highlights the importance of having a robust disaster recovery plan in place.
While Kronos’ system availability has now been restored, albeit, with certain supplementary customer applications still in the process of coming back online, the question remains: can Kronos really be trusted with customer data?
Ransomware Attacks on the Rise
In the wake of the Kronos attack, it is clear that data security is now more important than ever before. Organizations must take steps to ensure that their data is safe and secure, or they risk facing serious consequences.
To restore system availability in the face of a malware attack, companies need a reliable data backup solution. As part of a rigorous disaster recovery plan, cloud migration affords organizations the best possible chance of withstanding such an attack and emerging unscathed.
Learning From Kronos’ Mistakes
Data security is of paramount importance in the modern world. And Kronos, unfortunately, has shown that it is not immune to the dangers that exist from threat actors.
Parsec Labs CEO, Chris Moore, a leader in the enterprise data management space, said, “For companies like Kronos, the only way to restore customer confidence is to take steps to ensure that their data is safe and secure. And that starts with having a robust disaster recovery plan in place.”
Otherwise, the consequences can be catastrophic. Let Kronos be a reminder of that.
Business leaders should learn from Kronos’ mistakes and ensure that their organization is prepared for anything.
Because in the modern world of business and data security, it’s not a matter of if a cyber attack will happen, but when.