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ReadersSpeak

TSYS unfazed by ransomeware attack ransomware attack involving systems that support certain
corporate back office functions of a legacy TSYS merchant
heard that payment card processing giant TSYS business,” TSYS said in a statement. “We immediately con-
was hit by a ransomware attack and that the theives tained the suspicious activity and the business is operat-
made off with tons of data and published some of ing normally. ... Transaction processing is conducted on
I it online. How could such a sophisticated company separate systems, has continued without interruption and
like TSYS, an industry leader, get tricked into this kind of no card data was impacted. We regret any inconvenience
situation. Also, did the company pay a ransom to get data this issue may have caused. This matter is immaterial to
access back? the company.”
Dav Mulroney
Merchant Level Salesperson So, it looks like TSYS structured its networks to limit the
Dav, potential impact of bad actors. The processor also acted
swiftly to contain potential damage. TSYS did not state
Thank you for your inquiry. You are correct: TSYS is a top whether it paid ransom, but the Krebs on Security website,
third-party payment processor in North America in addi- reported that Conti typically only publishes data from vic-
tion to being a major processor in Europe. On Dec. 8, 2020, tims that refuse to negotiate a ransom payment.
cybercriminal group Conti, which employs Ryuk ran-
someware, published 10 gigabytes of data that it claimed This is a good reminder that we all need to structure net-
to have removed from TSYS' networks. Ryuk is often used works for minimal potential impact by cybercriminals,
to target financial institutions. render stolen data useless to thieves, and educate all net-
work users on how to prevent being a victimized by crimi-
Unfortunately, it takes duping only one person using a nals eager to do harm.
network to gain access and insert malware, so even the
most sophisticated organizations can be preyed upon by Want to sound off?
clever cybercriminals. Fraudsters asserted they gained What issues are on your mind as we embark upon a
data pertaining to prepaid cards from TSYS. However, ac- new year? What questions do you have? Let us know at
cording to the company, this is not true. “We experienced a greensheet@greensheet.com.