Ransomware may leave many Americans without Pay this Holiday Season

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and many Americans rely on those December paychecks to help cover the costs that come with the season.  Because of a Ransomware attack, many Americans might miss that all-important check this year.

Payroll program Kronos was the victim of a Ransomware attack on December 11 that impacted its UKG solutions reliant on the Kronos Private Cloud. These are systems that employers use to track time and attendance for payroll processing.

Kronos recommends that “customers evaluate alternative plans to process time and attendance data” because it doesn’t know how long it will take to restore access. Kronos posted an update on December 14 admitting that “Due to the nature of the incident, it may take up to several weeks to fully restore system availability.”  This implies that there is little chance the payroll system will be operational this month.

Kronos “strongly recommends customers consider manual time collection efforts to ensure accurate collection of employee time in the interim.” Kronos also confirmed that time punch data can’t currently be collected manually, which makes the situation that much more difficult for employers.

GameStop, Honda, and Whole Foods are a few companies affected by the attack – as well as several state and local government offices. The companies affected are doing the best they can to ensure employees still receive their paycheck, but there is concern that anyone who gets paid bi-weekly through UKG may not receive funds on their next paycheck.

Story via PC Magazine