Amid Outrage, Rackspace Sends Users Email Touting Its Incident Response

Customers affected by a ransomware attack on Rackspace's Hosted Exchange Email have experienced service outages and a forced transition to Microsoft 365 — and have widely expressed outrage about an overall lack of transparency from the company about the breach.

But Rackspace's latest email to them, provided to Dark Reading by a reader, tries to put a positive spin on the company's response.

"As you know, on Friday, December 2, 2022, Rackspace experienced a ransomware incident in its Hosted Exchange Email business, a managed email solution provided to small and medium businesses," the Rackspace email to customers said. "Due to swift action on the Company's part in disconnecting its network and following its incident response plans, industry-leading global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has confirmed the incident was quickly contained and limited solely to the Hosted Exchange Email business."

It then invites them to attend a webinar on Tuesday hosted by a panel of Rackspace leadership, including its CISO Ed Pawlowski, for additional information and an opportunity to ask questions.

"This was an incident with limited impact," according to the email — a claim that customers are begging to differ on. Users have already filed suit against Rackspace for negligence and have complained bitterly about a lack of customer support with the transition to Microsoft 365, a lack of access to their data, and limited communications with the company.