MathWorks Confirms Ransomware Attack Behind Widespread Outage MathWorks, the Massachusetts-based developer of MATLAB and Simulink, confirmed this week that a ransomware attack caused a major outage affecting its applications since May 18. The incident disrupted multiple services, including web and mobile apps, licensing systems, downloads, the online store, the company website, wikis, and user accounts. The company first acknowledged the issue on May 18, stating it was investigating disruptions across its platforms. Over the weekend, MathWorks began restoring services, prioritizing MATLAB Online and MATLAB Mobile, its flagship products used by over five million users worldwide. By Monday, the company confirmed the ransomware attack as the root cause, noting that many IT systems had been brought back online with the help of cybersecurity experts. As of Wednesday, additional services were restored, though some applications remain offline or operate in a degraded state. MathWorks reported the incident to authorities but has not disclosed the threat actor responsible, and no ransomware group has publicly claimed the attack. The company has not provided further details on the extent of the breach or potential data exposure.

MathWorks, the developer of MATLAB and Simulink, suffered a ransomware attack in April that resulted in the theft of personal data belonging to 10,476 individuals, including names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers (SSNs), and non-U.S. national identification numbers. The breach disrupted critical internal systems and customer-facing services, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), Single Sign-On (SSO), the MathWorks Cloud Center, file exchange, license center, and online store, causing prolonged outages. The company detected the intrusion on May 18, over a month after the initial breach, and publicly disclosed it on May 27. While MathWorks confirmed the ransomware attack, it has not disclosed the threat actor’s identity or whether a ransom was paid. The stolen data’s sensitivity—particularly SSNs and national IDs—poses severe risks of identity theft, financial fraud, and long-term reputational damage. The incident underscores the growing threat of ransomware gangs exfiltrating high-value personal data before encrypting systems, compounding operational and legal repercussions for affected organizations.

MathWorks, the developer of MATLAB, suffered a ransomware attack that disrupted its IT infrastructure, including internal systems and online applications. The incident began on May 18, causing outages across critical platforms such as the career page, cloud center, store, and file exchange, while MATLAB Online and MATLAB Mobile were restored by May 24. The attack impacted 6,500 employees and millions of users—primarily engineers, scientists, and academic institutions (6,500+ universities) relying on MATLAB for computation and data analysis. Federal law enforcement was notified, and cybersecurity experts were engaged to mitigate the breach. As of the latest update, several MathWorks web pages remained offline, with investigations ongoing. The attack aligns with a broader 2024 trend where ransomware accounted for nearly 50% of confirmed breaches, per Verizon’s report. While no explicit data theft was confirmed, the operational disruption and potential exposure of internal/employee systems suggest severe internal and reputational risks.