Wolters Kluwer Cyberattack Spreads ‘Quiet Panic’ Through Industry

A malware attack at accounting software company Wolters Kluwer wreaked havoc on the firm this week, as reports stated the cyber event has spread “quiet panic” throughout the industry.

Wolters Kluwer, which provides cloud services and tax accounting technology for other accounting firms in the U.S., was hit by a malware attack this week, shutting down its access to its tax return database, reports in CNBC said on Thursday (May 9). The event began on Monday with downtime lasting into Wednesday, sparking security concerns throughout the accounting sector and shutting many accountants out of systems they need to operate.

Storage services and tax and accounting services were shut down for accountant clients beginning Monday, rendering those clients unable to work or access their own clients’ information.

One accountant at a Midwest-based firm told the publication that the industry is in the midst of a “quiet panic” as a result of the cyberattack, though Wolters Kluwer has not revealed how many of its customers were affected by the incident.

“We have a really close relationship with our customers, and we understand that this situation impacted their day-to-day work,” said Wolters Kluwer VP of Risk Management Elizabeth Queen in an interview with the publication. “We’re working around the clock to restore service, and we want to provide them the assurance that we can restore service safely. We’ve made good progress so far.”

Queen added that Wolters Kluwer is in contact with law enforcement and third-party cyber forensic professionals.

The company released a public statement earlier this week noting that it has “seen no evidence that customer data was taken or that there was a breach of confidentiality of that data. Also, there is no reason to believe that our customers have been infected through our platforms and applications. Our investigation is ongoing.”

Queen told CNBC that the company is not yet making public the type of malware impacting the company, and that there is no specific timeline of when the matter will be resolved or when services will be restored.