Payroll/HR Giant PrismHR Hit by Ransomware?

PrismHR, a company that sells technology used by other firms to help more than 80,000 small businesses manage payroll, benefits, and human resources, has suffered what appears to be an ongoing ransomware attack that is disrupting many of its services. Hopkinton, Mass.-based PrismHR handles everything from payroll processing and human resources to health insurance and tax forms for hundreds of "professional employer organizations" (PEOs) that serve more than two million employees. The company processes more than $80 billion payroll payments annually on behalf of PEOs and their clients. Countless small businesses turn to PEOs in part because they simplify compliance with various state payroll taxes, and because PEOs are the easiest way for small businesses to pool their resources and obtain more favorable health insurance rates for their employees. PrismHR has not yet responded to requests for comment. But in a notice sent to its PEO partners, PrismHR said it detected suspicious activity within its networks on Feb. 28, and that it disabled access to its platform for all users in an effort to contain the security incident. The company said the disruption has affected 200 PEO clients across the country, and that the most immediate concern is helping PEOs ensure their customers can process payrolls this week. "The outage may extend throughout today and possibly later, with potential impact on payroll processing," Prism explained in a template email it suggested PEO partners…

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