Shutterfly hit by Conti ransomware attack

Representational image of a cybercriminal
(Image credit: Pixabay)

American photography company Shutterfly has suffered a ransomware attack that saw “thousands of devices” encrypted and a hoard of corporate data stolen. 

First reported by BleepingComputer, and subsequently confirmed by the company in its own official announcement, the notorious Conti operators are behind the attack, and are demanding “millions” in ransom.

In exchange for the ransom payment, not only did the group promise to provide the decryption key for the locked devices, but also promised not to publish all of the stolen data. To show they mean business, the group provided a screenshot of a dedicated website, brought up exclusively as means of publicly hanging Shutterfly’s laundry.

Negotiating time

BleepingComputer adds these screenshots included legal agreements, bank and merchant account info, login credentials for corporate services, spreadsheets, and “what appears to be customer information, including the last four digits of credit cards”.

Conti also says it obtained the source code for the Shutterfly store, but did not say which one, given that the company handles multiple assets (GrooveBook, BorrowLenses, Shutterfly.com, Snapfish, Lifetouch). Whether or not any malware was used in the earlier stages of the attack is also unknown.

What we do know is that Shutterfly.com, Snapfish, TinyPrints, or Spoonflower sites were not affected by the attack, while the company’s corporate network, Lifetouch, BorrowLeneses, and Groovebook, have all been disrupted. 

“We do not store credit card, financial account information or the Social Security numbers of our Shutterfly.com, Snapfish, Lifetouch, TinyPrints, BorrowLenses, or Spoonflower customers, and so none of that information was impacted in this incident,” the company explained. “However, understanding the nature of the data that may have been affected is a key priority and that investigation is ongoing. We will continue to provide updates as appropriate."

According to BleepingComputer, the company is currently negotiating with the attackers, while law enforcement agencies have been notified. 

Many cybersecurity experts believe the Conti operators are of Russian origin. In the past, the group has been affiliated with ransomware attacks against Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) and Department of Health (DoH), the City of Tulsa, Broward County Public Schools, and Advantech, among others.

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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.