Popular website maker Moonfruit has shut down all websites on its platform after it received a threat of a cyber attack.
Moonfruit sites have been down since 10am on 14th December 2015, and the firm said they would remain down for up 12 hours .
In an update on its website the firm said: "As a result of the threatened attack on Moonfruit, we have taken the decision to make significant infrastructure changes which will offer us the best possible protection against these attacks both today and in the future."
It says it is "working with law enforcement agencies" to resolve the issue.
Moonfruit, which allows websites to be built in a drag and drop editor, was also the subject of a DDoS attack at the end of last week, which it said lasted for 45 minutes. Customers’ personal and financial data is protected, the firm said.
During the attack, the perpetrators phoned Moonfruit demanding a large ransom be paid, or the attack would resume today.
The issue is of particularly concern to SMBs, many of whom use Moonfruit to easily build websites, in the run up to Christmas.
The firm emailed customers on the 11th December, but some customers told the BBC that they were unhappy with the company’s communication.
Film-maker Reece de Ville said: "They have been slow to communicate via their website what is going on.
"I could be losing out on a lot of money from potential clients, and they may not come back if they think the company has gone."
Moonfruit has said it is working on getting a holding page up for its customers.
So-called Ransomware is becoming increasingly prevalent, including advancements that mean the decrypt key is not stored locally on the device and an internet connection is not required, making it almost impossible to decrypt.
