Cyber security breach could target nearly all companies: Cyber watchdog

Cyber watchdogs fear a major cyber security breach that could target all companies is on the horizon due to a weak spot in the internationally popular software, Apace Log4j.

Apache is a logging service used to, for example, store information on which users log in and when. "It is effortless to hack the system. Anyone can do it," director of the computer security company Hunt & Hackett Ronal Prins told NOS.

Prins said he predicts a "major ransomware attack in the near future." In a ransomware attack, hackers gain access to sensitive data and demand a ransom for the company to retrieve their private information.

Apache has since released an update that seals the security leak. The National Cyber Security Centrum urged companies to install the update as soon as possible. "IT professionals need to pay attention this weekend that they install the patches," director of the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure Victor Gevers said.

It could be that hackers have already gained access to companies' data, although it could take some time before the cybercriminals demand a ransom.