Italy's National Cybersecurity agency warns of huge global attack

Rome: After a hacking attack on computer servers around the world, Italy's National Cybersecurity Agency has warned organisations to take immediate action to protect their systems.

According to the Agency, a massive ransomware hacking attack has compromised thousands of computer servers around the world, targeting VMware (VMW.N) ESXi servers, reports the Euro Weekly News.

The hacking attack sought to exploit a software vulnerability, Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale (ACN) director general Roberto Baldoni told Reuters, adding it was on a massive scale.

ACN is the Italian government body set up for the purpose of protecting national security in the cyberspace.

Servers have been compromised globally, including in the US, Canada, Finland, and France, as per Italian news outlet ANSA, citing the ACN.

Moreover, the report said that organisations throughout Italy are very likely to have been affected by this attack.

However, the ACN advised the organisations to take preventative measures to avoid being locked out of their systems.

The report further said that large parts of Italy were affected by a massive internet outage on February 5.

Italian telecommunications company TIM reported the issue but did not consider it related to the hacker attack and attributed the incident to a problem with an international link.

Last month, South Korea's internet safety watchdog said that a Chinese hacking group launched a cyberattack against 12 academic institutions in the country.

The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) said the attackers hacked into the websites of the 12 institutions, which included some departments of Jeju University and the Korea National University of Education.

With inputs from IANS