On 04 June, Fujifilm confirmed that it had experienced a ransomware attack from a group of hackers. The company said that this attack was affecting a "specific network" in Japan and that it shut down "all networks and server systems" while the attack was being investigated.
According to a new report, Fujifilm has since heard from the hackers, but is refusing to pay their ransom demands. Instead, Fujifilm will reportedly be relying on backups in order to restore their servers.
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A Fujifilm spokesperson declined to comment on the amount demanded by the hackers, stating, "Fujifilm Corporation in Tokyo does not comment on the demand but I can confirm we have not paid any ransom."
With computer systems in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa now "fully operational", it seems that Fujifilm has been able to weather the worst of the effects of this ransomware attack.
According to a report on Verdict (via PetaPixel), not only did the company lose access to some of its servers, but some deliveries were also partially halted. However, Fujifilm told Verdict that it had "sufficient backups in place as part of its normal operation procedure" that meant that the company didn't need to pay the hackers in order to get back the stolen data.
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However, while stolen data can be a logistical headache for a company, one of the most unfortunate aspects can be the threat of that data being sold to a third party. Luckily for those in Europe, Fujifilm Europe has said that it is "highly confident that no loss, destruction, alteration, unauthorized use or disclosure of our data, or our customers' data, on Fujifilm Europe's systems has been detected".
However, it remains unclear whether the hackers were able to steal data from the affected network in Japan – with Fujifilm declining to comment on whether the hacker group had threatened to publish the data if the ransom was not paid.
With Canon having also recently been the target of ransomware, it seems that this could be the start of a disturbing trend of imaging companies dealing with hacker threats. At times like these, it's even more important to remain vigilant with our data, investing in software such as the best password managers and the best VPN services to help us remain protected online.
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