Ransomware attacks in Europe target old VMware, agencies say

ROME (AP) — Cybersecurity agencies in Europe are warning of ransomware attacks exploiting a 2-year-old computer bug. The Italian premier’s office says the attacks affecting the country’s computer systems Sunday involved “ransomware already in circulation” from cloud technology provider VMware. A Friday bulletin from a French cybersecurity agency said the attack campaigns target a VMware product used to monitor virtual machines. Palo Alto, California-based VMware fixed the bug back in February 2021, but the attacks are targeting older, unpatched versions of the product. Separately, a major internet outage in Italy drove Telecom Italia’s connectivity down to a quarter of its usual service. It was unclear whether those outages were related to the ransomware attacks.