Sweden's Riksbank Turns to Police Following Cyber-Attack On Tietoevry Data Center

(Bloomberg) -- Sweden’s central bank has filed a police report after some of its IT systems were rendered inaccessible by a ransomware attack that has crippled customers of Finnish software company Tietoevry Oyj since last weekend. 

The Riksbank’s human resources and payroll systems were still out of service on Thursday following the attack, according to a spokesperson. A large number government agencies and private companies in Sweden have been hit, including the country’s parliament and its biggest cinema chain.

The attack by a ransomware group known as Akira targeted a Tietoevry data center in Sweden in the early hours of Saturday. While the company was able to isolate the affected unit, restoring systems and services is still in progress. 

As part of the fallout, movie-goers have been unable to buy tickets from Filmstaden online, hospitals’ healthcare records systems have been disrupted and universities have been unable to access staff databases.

There’s been a recent surge in ransomware and cyber-attacks on high-value targets, with hackers setting their sights on everything from Australia’s largest ports to casinos in Las Vegas. Earlier this week, securities-lending teams at two major banks in the US had to resort to using spreadsheets following a ransomware attack on financial technology firm EquiLend.

Akira, which emerged last March, has been called a “formidable ransomware threat” by cybersecurity firm Sophos’ analyst Morgan Demboski. She late last year reported that the group had hit a wide range of organizations in Europe, North America, and Australia, claiming hundreds of victims.

Tietoevry has “an extensive team of experts and technicians” working around the clock to restore services for clients, the Espoo, Finland-based company said in a statement Thursday.

“We regret the inconvenience caused by this malicious attack on our customers and all those affected by it,” said Venke Bordal, head of Tietoevry Tech Services in Sweden. “We will continue our close collaboration with the police and other authorities and will accommodate them in every possible way to support the investigation.”