Marquis blames firewall provider SonicWall for data breach

Marquis, a Texas-based financial technology (fintech) firm, has publicly blamed its firewall provider, SonicWall, for a ransomware attack—a malicious software attack that encrypts data—that compromised its systems. A firewall is a network security device used to protect digital networks. Marquis believes that its August 2025 ransomware attack occurred because SonicWall suffered a data breach, which involves unauthorized access to sensitive information, that exposed critical security information. Consequently, Marquis plans to seek compensation from SonicWall for expenses related to the data incident. The firm, which allows hundreds of banks and credit unions to visualize data, has begun notifying hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. that their information was taken during the August 2025 ransomware attack.

According to Hanna Grimm, a spokesperson representing Marquis, the company had recently begun using SonicWall’s firewalls to protect its network. Grimm explained that in September 2025, after the data security incident affected Marquis’s systems, SonicWall publicly disclosed that a threat actor had earlier in the year gained unauthorized access to its cloud backup service. Grimm added that while SonicWall initially reported that fewer than 5% of customers were affected, the provider clarified in October 2025 that firewall configuration data and credentials associated with all customers using the cloud backup service, including Marquis, had been accessed. These configuration files contain settings and policies for network security devices. Marquis claims this unauthorized access allowed hackers to obtain the credentials needed to bypass its network security.

SonicWall has pushed back against these allegations. SonicWall spokesperson Bret Fitzgerald stated, “We have no new evidence to establish a connection between the SonicWall security incident reported in September 2025 and ongoing global ransomware attacks on firewalls and other edge devices,” adding that the company has asked Marquis for evidence to substantiate its claims.

Why it matters

Marquis is seeking compensation from its firewall provider, SonicWall, alleging that a breach at the provider enabled the ransomware attack that compromised the data of hundreds of thousands of people.