US intelligence agencies assess the consequences of a large-scale hacker attack

US cybersecurity officials said they were assessing the impact of a large-scale hacker attack on servers around the world.

Thousands of computer servers around the world have been hacked for ransom, Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) said on Sunday, warning organizations to take protective measures.

Italian news agency ANSA, referring to ACN, reported that servers had been hacked in other European countries, including France and Finland, as well as in the United States and Canada.

“CISA is working with our public and private sector partners to assess the impact of these incidents and provide assistance as needed,” the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency said.

The hackers were trying to exploit the vulnerability in the software, ACN CEO Roberto Baldoni told Reuters, adding that the attack was widespread.

Dozens of Italian organizations appear to have been affected and many more have been warned to take action to prevent their systems from being blocked.