Sopra Steria confirms it was hit by new Ryuk ransomware variant
The French IT services firm has admitted it will take "weeks" for business operations to return to normal


IT services giant Sopra Steria has admitted that it will take "weeks" for the company to recover after it was hit by a serious cyber attack last week.
In a statement released on Monday, the French-headquartered IT firm confirmed that it was struck by a new variant of the infamous Ryuk ransomware, which it claims was previously unknown to antivirus software providers and security agencies.
Ryuk, a popular strain of malware that is said to be targeting some 20 organisations a week, which recently forced a number of US hospitals offline, is believed to have compromised Sopra Steria's Active Directory infrastructure and encrypted portions of the company's network.
"Sopra Steria’s investigation teams immediately provided the competent authorities with all information required," the company said. "The Group was able to quickly make this new version’s virus signature available to all antivirus software providers, in order for them to update their antivirus software."
"Moreover, it has also been established that the cyber attack was only launched a few days before it was detected."
While not immediately detected, Sopra Steria says it was able to contain the malware to a "limited part" of the company's infrastructure, and said it has not identified any leaked data or damage caused to its customers’ information systems.
However, the company has admitted that it will take a "few weeks" for a "return to normal".
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
"Having analysed the attack and established a remediation plan, the Group is starting to reboot its information system and operations progressively and securely, as of today," it added.
Somewhat ironically, Sopra Steria has a specialised cyber security brand that promises to help customers “protect sensitive information, and prevent costly data breaches.”
The company is also one of the founding members of France’s Cyber Campus, an industry-led initiative to spread cyber security awareness, training and product sales.
RELATED RESOURCE
A guide to becoming cloud-native smart and secure
The transcendence of cloud-native application development
Commenting on the attack, security analyst Graham Cluley said: "Although it might be easy for those unaffected to be bemused by the irony of a company like Sopra Steria being hit by ransomware, it’s really a reminder that any organisation could potentially fall victim to a determined attack.
"All companies, big and small, need to be on their guard and put defences in place to reduce the chances of becoming the next victim."
Carly Page is a freelance technology journalist, editor and copywriter specialising in cyber security, B2B, and consumer technology. She has more than a decade of experience in the industry and has written for a range of publications including Forbes, IT Pro, the Metro, TechRadar, TechCrunch, TES, and WIRED, as well as offering copywriting and consultancy services.
Prior to entering the weird and wonderful world of freelance journalism, Carly served as editor of tech tabloid The INQUIRER from 2012 and 2019. She is also a graduate of the University of Lincoln, where she earned a degree in journalism.
You can check out Carly's ramblings (and her dog) on Twitter, or email her at hello@carlypagewrites.co.uk.
-
The race is on for Higher Ed to adapt: Equity in hyflex learning
Hyflex courses can improve student wellbeing and engagement, but only with meeting technology that leaves no one behind
-
Gen Z workers are keen on AI in the workplace – but they’re still skeptical about the hype
News Younger workers could lead the shift to AI, but only think it can can manage some tasks
-
Ransomware victims are getting better at haggling with hackers
News While nearly half of companies paid a ransom to get their data back last year, victims are taking an increasingly hard line with hackers to strike fair deals.
-
LockBit data dump reveals a treasure trove of intel on the notorious hacker group
News An analysis of May's SQL database dump shows how much LockBit was really making
-
‘I take pleasure in thinking I can rid society of at least some of them’: A cyber vigilante is dumping information on notorious ransomware criminals – and security experts say police will be keeping close tabs
News An anonymous whistleblower has released large amounts of data allegedly linked to the ransomware gangs
-
It's been a bad week for ransomware operators
News A host of ransomware strains have been neutralized, servers seized, and key players indicted
-
Everything we know about the Peter Green Chilled cyber attack
News A ransomware attack on the chilled food distributor highlights the supply chain risks within the retail sector
-
Scattered Spider: Who are the alleged hackers behind the M&S cyber attack?
News The Scattered Spider group has been highly active in recent years
-
Ransomware attacks are rising — but quiet payouts could mean there's more than actually reported
News Ransomware attacks continue to climb, but they may be even higher than official figures show as companies choose to quietly pay to make such incidents go away.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolen – and security experts say it won't be the last
News Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.