DXC subsidiary hit by ransomware attack

(Image credit: The DXC Technology website)

Global IT services provider DXC Technology has confirmed that its subsidiary managed service business, Xchanging, was recently targeted by a ransomware attack.

The company is confident that the attack was isolated to the confines of the Xchanging network, with no data that belongs to the managed services subsidiary for the insurance sector compromised or stolen.

Little information on the timescale of the attack or the scale of resultant disruption has been offered by DXC, but the company confirmed it implemented a series of containment and remediation measures to resolve the situation.

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DXC is also working with affected customers to restore access to their operating environment as quickly as possible. This is in addition to a continued dialogue with law enforcement and cyber security agencies.

The company assists global firms with the smooth running of mission-critical systems and operations while also engaging in digital transformation endeavours, and ensuring security and scale across several types of cloud environment. Prominent customers include DreamWorks Animation, Aviva and the NHS.

Xchanging, meanwhile, is a business process and technology services provider and systems integrator, headquartered in London, with customers exclusively in the insurance sector.

Ransomware has been on the rise in recent months in years, causing disruption for a number of high profile targets of late, including Japanese car manufacturer Honda, in June. The ransomware attack forced the company to put manufacturing on hold in some locations.

Another key firm in the IT channel, Cognizant, suffered a large ransomware attack in April 2020, which directly involved internal systems and led to service disruptions for a handful of its clients.

The kind of ransomware that may potentially target your business also varies depending on the sector you’re in and where your business is geographically-based. In the UK, for instance, Leeds-based companies are most likely to fall victim to Rapid ransomware, while GrandCrab ransomware will be the cause for most ransomware attacks in Manchester.

What’s indisputable, however, is that ransomware threats are becoming more present, with a 195% increase in reported incidents between 2018 and 2019.

Keumars Afifi-Sabet is a writer and editor that specialises in public sector, cyber security, and cloud computing. He first joined ITPro as a staff writer in April 2018 and eventually became its Features Editor. Although a regular contributor to other tech sites in the past, these days you will find Keumars on LiveScience, where he runs its Technology section.