Kiteworks Urges Global Customers to Shut Servers After Law Enforcement Warning

Kiteworks urged customers worldwide to take its servers offline for a six-hour period on September 26, and reportedly advised shutting them down sooner, after law enforcement shared intelligence that attackers might target some customer systems. The precaution reportedly applies even to servers not exposed to the public internet. Kiteworks said it knows of no compromise and characterized the warning as preventive; it has not publicly identified a vulnerability, attack method or suspected attacker, and says known vulnerabilities are fixed in software release 9.5.1. Security observers called a broad shutdown recommendation highly unusual, underscoring concern about the potential threat.
Kiteworks says its platform serves more than 3,800 enterprise customers and is used by government organizations, highlighting the potential breadth and sensitivity of affected systems.
Kiteworks did not identify which law-enforcement agency provided the warning; the FBI and U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA did not respond to TechCrunch’s requests for comment.
Sophos’ Counter Threat Unit researchers advised Kiteworks customers to follow the vendor’s email guidance or contact Kiteworks directly.
Computer Weekly noted that Kiteworks’ managed file-transfer products have been attractive targets in the past because compromising them can enable attackers to reach multiple downstream users through supply-chain attacks.
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