Aside from gaming hardware manufacturers, modern corporations face constant attacks from malicious hackers and other digital no-goodniks. Corporations are not the only ones attacked by malicious hackers. MSI confirmed to its customers it had been attacked.
MSI has enumerated its responsibility for how much damage has been caused. As a result, the company threatened to release proprietary software and source code.
It has been reported that the Taiwanese computer manufacturer MSI (short for Micro-Star International)'s network has been compromised in a cyberattack.
As reported earlier this week, a ransomware group has infiltrated MSI systems with the help of the Money Message ransomware attack. Unless the company pays a $4 million ransom fee to the hackers, well-protected corporate data will be released online next week.
Asus advises all of its customers to ensure the latest BIOS and firmware updates are delivered only to the MSI website and not from anywhere else.
As expected, there are not many details, but it seems that MSI initiated "defense mechanisms and recovery measures" after detecting network anomalies and then notified law enforcement and the government.
Earlier this week, in a filing with Taiwan's Stock Exchange (TWSE), first spotted by PCMag, MSI revealed that a cyberattack had occurred against some of its information service systems. The terrorist attack has been reported to the appropriate authorities.
This group of criminals is demanding a $4 million ransom to avert the release of the entire data cache available on the web by the criminals. Although MSI does not specify details, the company warns customers not to download BIOS/UEFI files or firmware from any source other than the company's website. In light of this, it appears that compromised software is a current problem in the wild.
It has been reported yesterday that there has been a cyberattack against the customer. The report stated that the attacker, a ransomware group called Money Message, has claimed to have stolen source code, a framework for developing bios and private keys.
Moreover, the chat logs on this site showed that the group claimed to have stolen 1.5 TB of data. They wanted a ransom payment of over four million dollars for the stolen data. Whether these are connected or if MSI paid a ransom for these files is unclear.
In a report, MSI representatives said that the company regained normal operations after restoring its systems. They have seen a minimal impact of the attack on their day-to-day operations. As long as customers exercise the usual level of due diligence when downloading software, drivers, and updates, they should not have too much to worry about if the company is telling the truth. According to rumors, this hack is unrelated to fraudulent emails in February. These emails purported to offer lucrative sponsorship deals to content creators through MSI.
In addition, MSI advises its customers to stick to the official MSI website exclusively for BIOS and firmware updates. This is preferable to downloading from unreliable sources like unknown websites or torrent download sites. If users search for unofficial - yet perfectly safe - firmware dumps on the internet for their devices, it would be rather pointless for them to look for modified or unofficial firmware dumps that are perfectly safe.