Kaseya VSA Breach: Does It Impact You?

By now you have likely heard of the ransomware breach experienced by thousands of companies that use the Kaseya VSA Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) product. As a cyber security and managed service provider, Aeko Technologies does provide RMM to clients, but does not use Kaseya VSA to do so. That means Aeko clients are not directly impacted by this breach. But there are still lessons to be learned and other companies you do business with may have been impacted..

What is Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)?

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools are used by managed service providers and corporate IT departments to provide help desk support, and monitor and patch machines. Also known as network management, RMM platforms allow MSPs to remotely monitor client networks, computers and other endpoints. RMM is deployed by installing an “agent” on the endpoint that feeds information about the health and status of that endpoint back to the managed service provider. The MSP can then manage those endpoints without needing to visit the client’s office or physically touch the computer. Remote IT management has become a critical component of the new remote and hybrid workplaces, as the MSP can proactively monitor endpoints wherever they are.

What Happened With the Kaseya Breach?

An RMM tool named Kaseya VSA was compromised by hackers and was used to infect thousands of machines around the world with ransomware, and they had their files encrypted. The attack happened July 2, 2021 and the full impact of the breach on customers (and their clients) are not yet fully known.

When the attack occurred, companies with VSA installed were told to immediately shut down their VSA servers and Kaseya shut down its Saas servers and pulled its data centers offline to minimize the impact. The company is deploying a fix to the zero-day vulnerabilities that led to this breach with their next update.

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Is My Company Impacted By the Kaseya VSA Breach?

Aeko Technologies does leverage an RMM tool, but not Kaseya VSA. That means no Aeko Technologies client had exposure from this breach. 

What if Aeko’s RMM Provider Were Compromised?

The RMM provider Aeko uses is implemented in a way that makes the risk of a breach similar to Kaseya VSA low. However, the risk of a breach is always present. To reduce it further, the Aeko Advanced Endpoint Secure and Aeko Ultimate Secure products both have AI driven security products from other vendors that complement the RMM tools and monitor the activities on the machines. That means if the RMM tool were to experience a breach, these tools will alert on suspicious activities and shut them down. In addition, Aeko security engineers monitor these alerts 24×7 and react as needed. This is all part of the layered approach to cybersecurity that we believe to be so important at Aeko.

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As always, we continue to evaluate the threat environment and modify our tools and tactics to meet those threats to keep your IT environments safe. Clients should reach out with any questions or concerns through any of your regular communication channels, including emailing support@aekotech.com or calling (817) 983-7060.

Not an Aeko client yet? Contact us or book a meeting to learn more about how Aeko protects small and medium sized businesses from cyber attacks, data loss, downtime and other business disruptions.