Swiss Cloud AG victim of a cyber attack (April 2021)

[German]Swiss cloud provider, Swiss Cloud AG, fell victim to a cyber attack at the end of April 2021 – according to my information, it was a ransomware attack that brought the company to its knees. Here is a rough overview of what is known and confirmed by Swiss Cloud AG.

There was a cyber attack on Swiss Cloud AG's systems starting at 4:00 a.m. on April 27, 2021, the company confirmed in a status message on 4/28/2021..

Valued customers,

since Tuesday 27.04.2021, as of 4:00, Swiss Cloud has been under a massive cyber attack. Based on the security protocol, we took immediate measures and disconnected access. Our technicians are working at full speed in 24-hour operation to restore services. The next update will be no later than Thursday, 04/29/2021 at 14:00.

The text suggests a ransomware attack between the lines, as the company later added the following information to the statement.

Following the April 27 cyber attack, work is progressing to clean up systems and restore normal operations at swiss cloud computing ag. The backup systems can be used for the recovery. Parts in the complex server network affected by the attack must be cleaned up individually beforehand and reconfigured with corresponding time implications. The work to clean up and restore the servers, in which swiss cloud computing ag is being supported by specialists from the system partners of HPE and Microsoft, makes us confident that the systems will be available again in the course of the coming week. Work will also continue on weekends in 24-hour shifts.

If systems have to be cleaned, that only suggests an infection with malware (ransomware). On April 29, 2021, the provider wrote that an unauthorized data leak had not taken place according to current knowledge. Swiss Cloud AG is in contact with specialists and the relevant authorities with the aim of countering the attack with suitable measures and restoring normal operations as quickly as possible. The company plans to provide a status update today, May 3, 2021.

The Record writes here, that the type of ransomware was unknown – the company did not respond to inquiries. It said 6,500 customers were affected, with SAGE being one of them.

Founded in 2013, swiss cloud computing ag is a leading Swiss cloud provider for independent software vendors (ISVs) and ICT resellers with a focus on SMEs. The provider offers resellers a wide range of automated cloud services, from IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) for virtual servers to backup and storage services to virtual applications and desktops (DaaS). These can be implemented by means of white labeling and the reseller still remains the customer's contractual partner. The entire configuration is done by the customer or partner via a central portal. The data is stored redundantly and exclusively in Switzerland in various data centers. The company is headquartered in Zurich.