The German IT services company Bitmarck has been feeling the effects of a cyberattack. Its internal systems remain out of action as it struggles to bring them back online, SiliconANGLE reports.
Bismarck is a leading provider of outsourced IT services to the German healthcare industry. The cyberattack has forced the company to take its corporate website offline. The temporary webpage that Bismarck put up in its place announces that the cyberattack had targeted the company’s inner technical workings and explains the situation in detail via a Q&A format.
On the web page, Bismarck explains that it has taken all customer service, internal systems and some data centers offline while it conducts an impact analysis. “Bitmarck is currently taking systems back online step by step in accordance with a structured, security and priority-oriented process”, the company says, adding that “the shutdown, analysis and restart are carried out in accordance with Bitmarck’s security guidelines, which have been agreed on by all parties”.
The company also explains that it cannot discuss who was responsible for the attack “due to the authorities’ ongoing forensic analyses and investigations”.
So far, so good: “no outflow of data”
The company also assures us that “there has been no outflow of data”, neither at Bitmarck nor at customers or insured persons’ locations. In addition: “The patient data stored in the EHR (Electronic Health Records) was never endangered by the attack”.
However, as Daniel Selig, security automation Architect at Swimlane, told SiliconANGLE: “Although the company stresses that there are currently no signs of data theft, it is common for a data breach to be confirmed weeks or even months after the initial attack”.
Selig said that organizations such as Bitmarck could face liability problems given the critical nature of the type of data they manage. “In the event of a cyberattack, the recovery process can be lengthy, and there may be penalties for failing to identify and report unauthorized access”, he said.
Bismarck’s temporary web page apologised for the inconvenience. “We very much regret the inconvenience caused to our customers, service providers and insured persons and are working to restore the systems as quickly as possible”, the company stated.
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