Kaspersky blocked over 30,000 attempts to use the Log4Shell exploit

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky logged and blocked 30,562 attempts by hackers to use the Log4Shell exploit that was discovered last year.

Kaspersky warns that it is here to stay as a new tool in cyber criminals’ arsenals. Log4Shell is an exploit that targets Apache’s Log4j library, which is used to log requests for Java applications. If successful, an attacker that uses Log4Shell can gain total control over affected servers.

Kaspersky said that so far, its products detected and prevented 154,098 attempts to scan and attack vulnerable devices, with most targets located in Russia, Brazil and the United States.

Evgeny Lopatin, Security Expert at Kaspersky, said, “This vulnerability is being exploited by both advanced threat actors who target specific organizations and opportunists simply looking for any vulnerable systems to attack. We urge everyone who has not yet done so to patch up and use a strong security solution to keep themselves protected.”

Log4Shell was dangerous enough to earn a 10 on the CVSS severity scale. While many high-profile companies and websites make use of Log4j, countless smaller sites, projects and applications use it, too. Senior Security Researcher John Hammond attributed Log4Shell’s severity to the fact “that the ‘log4j’ package is so ubiquitous.”

It is recommended to check with vendors to see if their software is affected, and whether or not a patch is available (Cisco, Oracle and VMware have already taken action). It is also recommended to install security software that is able to log and detect scans that indicate an attacker is looking for systems vulnerable to Log4Shell.