Italy’s national cybersecurity agency said on Sunday that thousands of computer servers around the world have been attacked by malware, warning organizations to take steps to protect their systems.
The agency’s CEO Roberto Baldoni told Reuters that the attack was aimed at exploiting a vulnerability in software and was widespread.
The Italian news agency ANSA, citing the electronic security agency, reported that servers in other European countries such as France and Finland, as well as in the United States and Canada, were hacked.
It is likely that dozens of Italian organizations suffered from this attack. Telecom Italia customers reported internet problems earlier Sunday, but this is believed to be unrelated to the attack reported by the agency.
US cybersecurity officials said they were evaluating the impact of the reported incidents.
“We are working with our public and private sector partners to assess the impact of these reported incidents and provide assistance when needed,” the U.S. Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement.
