Kiteworks Urges Server Shutdown After Warning of Possible Attack

Kiteworks urged customers to temporarily take their file-sharing systems offline on September 26 after receiving intelligence about a possible attack. The company says the Kiteworks server shutdown was precautionary and that it has found no indication of a compromise.

Customers Received Shutdown Instructions

Kiteworks told customers that federal authorities had warned of a threat actor who might target some customer systems. The company consequently recommended a coordinated shutdown during the weekend.

Early reports described a six-hour period, including 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in Central Europe on Saturday. Kiteworks’ public statement, however, recommends allowing a nine-hour shutdown window in each customer’s local time zone. Customers received direct instructions with their specific hours.

Organizations that manage their own Kiteworks systems were responsible for shutting them down. Meanwhile, Kiteworks said it would handle the shutdown for systems it hosts.

No Breach or Zero-Day Exploit Confirmed

A report from German publication Heise raised concerns about a potential zero-day attack. However, Kiteworks has not confirmed that anyone has discovered or exploited an unknown vulnerability.

The company also says it has no indication that attackers compromised its systems or customer systems. It describes the warning as a preventive response to threat intelligence rather than an incident response.

Kiteworks says its current release, version 9.5.1, addresses all known vulnerabilities. It continues to recommend that customers run the latest version.

File-Sharing Systems Draw Attacker Interest

Kiteworks provides tools that organizations use to exchange sensitive files. That role can make such systems attractive targets for attackers seeking to steal data.

For now, Kiteworks has not named the suspected threat actor or disclosed a specific attack method. The Kiteworks server shutdown reflects the company’s assessment of a possible imminent threat, not confirmation that an attack took place.