Hawaii Company Faces Ransomware Attack. Thousands Suffer.
Early last year, Hawaii Payroll Services suffered a ransomware attack presumably by a criminal who broke through a series of security barriers and infiltrated a client’s account.
Early last year, Hawaii Payroll Services suffered a ransomware attack presumably by a criminal who broke through a series of security barriers and infiltrated a client’s account.
According to the records maintained at the State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Payroll Services is a domestic limited liability company. Ever since its establishment in July 2003, it has been providing a number of services including payroll processing, 401(k) reporting and payroll tax filing. Its services have reached out to more than 120 local companies, including Rainforest at Kilohana Square, Diamond Bakery, Yummy’s BBQ and Jean’s Warehouse.
In an attempt to restore confidence and make amends to the bruised reputation, the company’s owner, Michelle Wells-Nagamine has reiterated that everything is being done to protect the interests of the customers. She has instructed the staff to send out letters to the affected people and inform them that all out efforts are being made to regain and repossess all the lost files and precious data.
The owner has further informed that although some of the data was exposed, there is no indication of its presence on the dark web or that the data was exploited and misused.
In a forthright manner and without mincing words, Ms Nagamine categorically stated, “It is an impact for sure but we have to deal with it. We have got everything put back in for this year and we marched forward. That’s all I can do.”
While the forensic experts have been assigned the task to further investigate and recompense the situation and to suggest improvements in security protocols, the police department has been alerted to the attack. A case of unauthorized computer access has been registered and Financial Crimes section of FBI is investigating the case. However, no headway could be made that would lead to the arrest of the criminals.
The situation brought on by Covid-19 has forced countless people to access computers remotely. The number of remote computer users nearly doubled during the post Covid period. The increase in losses crossed a billion mark within a year. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center alone has received thousands of ransomware reports inflicting losses in excess of 29 million US dollars.
It is not easy to put an exact figure because several of the factors contributing toward the losses are not quantifiable. The total losses can add up to a colossal figure.
Episodes like these are harsh reminders that companies would be wiser if they allocate a budget for cyber security. The budget would be a small price for averting any impending breach that can threaten even the existence of the company.
