WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Employees in South Florida and on the Treasure Coast who work for businesses or governments rely on human resources software company Kronos to process their payroll checks.
A handful of local governments told Contact 5 they are aware of the Kronos ransomware attack and are keeping an eye on the situation.
They also promise workers will be paid on time Friday, because they do not store payroll data with Kronos.
Security expert Alan Crowetz of Infostream adds that Kronos' workforce programs also handle vacations and scheduling. Crowetz said small businesses that store data with the company could have repercussions from the ransomware attack that has locked out users.
"Do you pay them what you paid them the last pay period and just hope that's what they worked?" Crowetz said. "Do you try to verbally find out from each and every single employee how many hours they worked and what their deal is?"
The city of Cleveland warned workers to keep close tabs on credit reports and bank accounts, as personal information might have been exposed.
Crowetz said employees should always be aware of identity theft, but in this case, ransomware hackers are after money and want to shut down Kronos' online operation for ransom and not necessarily steal people's personal information.