EquiLend, a global financial technology firm based in New York, experienced significant operational disruptions due to a cyberattack that occurred on January 22, 2024. The attack led to unauthorized network access and forced the company to take parts of its systems offline. EquiLend is actively working to restore the affected services with the assistance of external cybersecurity experts. The incident comes shortly after EquiLend announced its acquisition by the U.S. private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a deal expected to close in Q2 2024. The company has not disclosed whether any data was compromised during the attack. This event aligns with the FBI’s warnings that ransomware gangs are increasingly targeting companies involved in significant financial transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, to leverage stock value impact for extortion.

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