How Interplay Responded to the Kaseya Attack

By this point, you’ve heard about the Kaseya attack that hit MSPs and their clients over the July 4^th weekend. This was a sophisticated ransomware attack that affected at least 1,500 organizations across the world (we expect that number to increase). At the time of this writing, some organizations still have their data fully encrypted. 

 Get the facts on this attack and learn how Interplay is keeping you safer. 

TL;DR: The Kaseya ransomware attack happened over the July 4^th weekend and affected MSPs and their customers. Interplay was not affected… but it worried us. In response, we’re upgrading all clients to an advanced security stack. Learn More. 

What Are the Facts in the Kaseya Attack?

Let’s cover the attack details briefly. 

• What happened? A REvil ransomware attack hit Kaseya’s Kaseya VSA Server (Virtual System Administrator), a solution that many MSPs and large networks use to remotely update their clients’ systems and devices. 
• Who did it affect? Kaseya’s clients are mostly MSPs. If your MSP used Kaseya, your business may have become the victim of ransomware. For the record: Interplay does not use Kaseya.
• When did it happen? The attack began on July 2, 2021 and some organizations are still trying to recover their encrypted data as of the time of this writing on July 23, 2021. 
• Where did it happen? Kaseya products are used all over the world, so this attack affected organizations across the globe. 
• Why did it happen? Experts believe Kaseya was a target because their product has access to so many organizations that are clients of MSPs.
• How did it happen? Sadly, it looks like Kaseya had a bad habit of not patching their servers or addressing known vulnerabilities. Unpatched systems are one of the leading ways cybercriminals break into systems, so make sure that you always apply patches immediately. 

Interplay: “We don’t use Kaseya”

First off, we at Interplay would like to reassure you: WE DON’T USE KASEYA. We use N-able’s N-Central. Both of these products (and the now-infamous SolarWinds) are remote access tools that help MSPs and large networks maintain cybersecurity for their clients without having to physically take away everyone’s computers to update them every week. 

ConnectWise was NOT impacted by Kaseya, at least the way we run it. We do use ConnectWise for our ticketing system. ConnectWise shut down some functionality for some partners out of caution, but none of our clients would have felt that impact, nor was there an actual attack on ConnectWise afaik. The way we use it prevented us and our clients from being affected, but this event does signal that cybersecurity incidents are striking closer to home. We don’t like that. 

What Interplay Is Doing to Keep You Safe From Ransomware Attacks

When cybersecurity issues strike close to home, we don’t wait until they hit us to do something about it: We take action immediately. To help your organization maintain better cybersecurity at all times, Interplay is now transitioning all clients to an advanced security stack over the next year. 

This includes:

• Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
• Next Generation Antivirus
• A managed SOC (Security Operations Center) solution
• End-user phishing simulation training

In the past, we would tailor each client’s security stack to their precise needs, but today’s Cyber Wild West requires the maximum of protection for all our clients, no matter what. We take your security seriously. 

What You Can Do to Protect Your Organization

As we are transitioning everyone over to the advanced security stack, we recommend that all our clients get full cyber insurance. Cyber insurance has its flaws, but the right plan can significantly help you cover the fallout from downtime and reputation damage resulting from cybersecurity incidents like ransomware. We can help you figure out who to talk to for cyber insurance. 

Please note: We aren’t recommending that you get cyber insurance because we think you’ll be hacked. In fact, just the opposite: we’re extremely confident that your organization will be safe. However, the pace of ransomware attacks over the last 6 months has demonstrated that security is never 100% safe. Cyber insurance gives you peace of mind. 

In addition, you can (you guessed it!) maintain good cyber-hygiene by: 

• Installing patches immediately
• Backing up your data regularly
• Using strong, unique passwords

Want to Know More? Ask the Interplay Team Anything. 

For 20 years, the friendly and knowledgeable IT team at Interplay has helped business leaders across a range of industries get more out of their tech, stress free. Not only are we always (and we mean always) happy to offer the best managed IT services, support, and advice, we’re also the team you can trust for the best cocktail recommendations here in Seattle or in Disney World – we’re versatile! All humor aside though, we’d love to help you get your IT running smoothly and securely, around the clock.