A ransomware attack on a Massachusetts-based human resources firm has affected MaineHealth and Hannaford Supermarkets.
The attack on Kronos, which helps employers track payrolls, employee time and attendance, occurred last Saturday night, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The ransomware attack will effectively keep the system offline for weeks, and company spokespeople told the Portland newspaper that it could continue to affect employee paychecks and time cards.
Kronos is widely used across the nation for local governments, universities and corporations.
According to MaineHealth, all employees were notified of the issue on Thursday, as well as being told that they would get paid on time, the Press Herald reported. MaineHealth also noted that the system was used to track time cards, but was not used to manage the employee payroll.
“As such, there is no risk that employee Social Security numbers or bank routing information has been exposed as a result of the ransomware attack,” MaineHealth told the Portland newspaper.
The cyberattack also affected the Hannaford time card system, but not employee paychecks, according to Ericka Dodge, a spokesperson for the Maine branch of the supermarket.
Hannaford Supermarkets is tracking its employees time cards manually, has issued paychecks for the week of the attack and made cash advances available for employees who worked more hours than were recorded due to the interference with Kronos, the Press Herald reported.
Kronos is working with cybersecurity experts to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
The New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the city of Cleveland, the Oregon Department of Transportation and a number of universities, including the University of Utah and George Washington University, were affected by the cyber attacks, according to Maine Public/NPR.