Japanese medical technology company Olympus this week revealed that its operations in the Americas were affected by a cyberattack.
Detected on October 10, the attack forced the company to shut down some of its systems, but Olympus says that it is already working on restoring them back to normal.
“Upon detection of suspicious activity, we immediately mobilized a specialized response team including forensics experts, and we are currently working with the highest priority to resolve this issue. As part of the investigation and containment, we have suspended affected systems and have informed the relevant external partners,” the company says.
The company says that only its operations in the Americas (the United States, Canada, and Latin America) were affected by the incident.
“We are working with appropriate third parties on this situation and will continue to take all necessary measures to serve our customers and business partners in a secure way,” the company notes.
The cyberattack came one month after the company disclosed an incident that affected “limited areas of its EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) IT systems.” That attack was reportedly coordinated by the BlackMatter ransomware gang.
Olympus did not share further details on the type of attack that targeted its American systems, but the action it took in response to the incident suggests ransomware might have been used.
Founded in 1919 in Tokyo, Japan, Olympus claims roughly 70% of the gastrointestinal endoscopic equipment market. The company produces electrocautery, endoscopic, endotherapy, ultrasound, and cleaning and disinfection equipment.
“The second cyberattack on technology giant Olympus in a month’s time should be a major wake-up call–no large global corporation should consider itself exempt from ransomware attacks. Senior executives and IT leaders should also be aware that no technological solution is 100% effective, but a large percentage of ransomware attacks can be prevented with diligent preparation,” Neil Jones, cybersecurity evangelist at Egnyte, said in an emailed comment.
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Ionut Arghire is an international correspondent for SecurityWeek.
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