MathWorks, the software company behind MATLAB and Simulink, has confirmed that a ransomware attack is to blame for a widespread service outage that began on May 18. The Massachusetts-based company acknowledged the cyberattack this week, following over a week of disrupted access to many of its web and mobile applications.
The attack caused significant disruptions across MathWorks’ services, affecting licensing systems, MATLAB Online, MATLAB Mobile, product downloads, user accounts, and the company’s online store and documentation resources. The company’s application status page showed multiple services either down or degraded.
Initially reported as an “investigation into a service issue,” MathWorks later confirmed the root cause was a ransomware incident. By the weekend of May 25, the company had started restoring priority services, including MATLAB Online, to operational status.
Systems Slowly Coming Back Online
“Some of our online applications used by customers became unavailable, and certain internal systems used by staff became unavailable, beginning on Sunday, May 18,” MathWorks said in a statement. “We have brought many of these systems back online and are continuing to bring other systems back online with the assistance of cybersecurity experts.”
As of the latest update on Wednesday, several services have been restored, though many remain offline or in a limited state. The company appears to be prioritizing restoration of MATLAB-related services, which serve over five million users worldwide.
MathWorks said it has notified the appropriate authorities and is working closely with cybersecurity professionals to recover systems securely. The company has not disclosed the identity of the ransomware group responsible, and no known threat actor has publicly claimed credit for the attack as of yet.
This incident highlights the growing trend of ransomware targeting software companies and their cloud-based infrastructure, with service downtime not only impacting customers but also putting operational trust and data security at risk.
