City of Springfield Issues Cybersecurity Warning after Timekeeping Company Kronos Hit by Nationwide/International Ransomware

Springfield, MA – The City of Springfield is issuing a cybersecurity warning after being notified that the timekeeping company Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG) and their Kronos Private Cloud was recently hit by a nationwide ransomware attack.

On Saturday, December 11, 2021, UKG became aware of unusual activity impacting UKG solutions using Kronos Private Cloud.  Immediate action was taken to investigate and mitigate the issue where it was determined to be a ransomware incident.  The incident is affecting Kronos customers not only in the United States but across the globe.

UKG notified the City of Springfield of this potential incident and are recommending the implementation of alternative business continuity protocols while this incident is further investigated.  UKG continues to work with cybersecurity experts to assess and resolve the situation, and have notified the authorities.  UKG continues to take all appropriate actions to remediate the situation and have apologized for this inconvenience.

The City of Springfield, which uses Kronos, is taking all appropriate actions necessary to mitigate the impact this incident might potentially have upon the city, including potential disruptions with the recording of city employee schedules/hours for payroll purposes, which are usually kept and recorded in Kronos.

The City of Springfield would like to reassure all city employees that contingency plans for recording employee schedules and hours will be implemented to mitigate the potential adverse effects this incident might cause and to make sure that employees will continue to receive their regular scheduled pay.  Any potential discrepancies found and encountered will be reviewed and addressed accordingly.

The City of Springfield will continue to closely monitor this incident and will work diligently to lessen the potential negative impact this situation might have on our city employees.