Ransomware Hits MathWorks: Week-Long Outage Disrupts Millions
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Show Notes
On this episode, we dissect the ransomware attack that brought MathWorks—a cornerstone software provider for engineers, scientists, and educators—to a grinding halt. The attack, which began on May 18, 2025, and was officially confirmed on May 26, crippled a wide range of customer-facing and internal systems, from MATLAB Online and ThingSpeak to license distribution and downloads.
We examine the timeline of the incident, MathWorks’ response, and what services remain down or degraded even as restoration efforts continue. With over 5 million users and customers across 100,000 organizations, the outage has triggered a wave of disruptions—especially for students relying on MATLAB Online during finals week.
We also explore the silence from ransomware groups, speculate on whether a ransom was paid, and discuss why this significant attack has received surprisingly little media coverage. Is MathWorks buying time behind closed doors, or is this another sign of growing sophistication among ransomware gangs?
Tune in for a comprehensive breakdown of the incident, the user impact, and the broader implications in today’s escalating ransomware threat landscape.