This weekend, the BlackMatter ransomware group targeted Marketron. Marketron supplies cloud-based revenue and traffic management tools to broadcast and media organizations and has a customer base of over 6,000 from the same industry. It handles advertising revenue of around $5 billion per year.
It was the second ransomware attack by BlackMatter during the weekend. Another one involved a ransom of $5.9 million when this group attacked the NEW Cooperative United States Farmers organization.
On Sunday night, customers of Marketron learned about the event from the company’s email that said the attack was carried out by “the Russian criminal group BlackMatter.”
Marketron’s CEO said that the company spent a lot on cybersecurity solutions to defend against intruders, but hackers still managed to get into the network. They don’t know how it happened as of now.
His email further states that the firm is in contact with hackers and the FBI, and efforts are being made to restore the systems quickly.
Marketron disclosed the issue publicly on Monday, stating that a “cyber event” has impacted all of its clients and disrupted part of its business activities. The company said that all its services are offline, including Marketron Traffic, Advertiser Portal, Visual Traffic Cloud, and Exchange.
Two unaffected services RepPak and RadioTraffic have also been taken down as a precaution. Platforms that are remaining online are Mobile Messaging, Email Marketing, and Pitch.
VP Marketing of Marketron said on Monday that third-party forensic investigators are working to comprehend the nature and breadth of the incident fully, pinpoint the root cause, and assure the integrity, safety, and security of our systems and data.
The BlackMatter ransomware group has been quite active this month, affecting over a dozen companies. Among its most recent victims are a US-based investment banking services provider, an Austrian Citrus Juicing equipment vendor, an Italian Drilling and Foundation equipment manufacturer, Japanese Tech company Olympus, and a few others.
