The UK-based newspaper is fighting an IT incident. “We believe this to be a ransomware attack but are continuing to consider all possibilities”, editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said.
The Guardian regularly covers cyberincidents. This time, the newspaper reports on itself. An editor revealed that the organization has been struggling with an IT incident since Tuesday night.
Suspected ransomware
The Guardian confirmed that some systems are disrupted, but did not specify the systems in question. The organization stated that online publishing is largely unaffected. The daily expects the first-next newspaper to be published as scheduled on Thursday.
“Although some of our internal systems are affected, we are confident we will be able to publish in print tomorrow”, editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said. Although the organization disclosed few if any technical details, Viner stressed that there are signs of ransomware.
Working from home
The editor-in-chief stated that The Guardian’s IT department is investigating the problem. “We will continue to keep our staff and anyone else affected informed. We will update everyone again at the end of the day.”
Viner requested employees to work from home for the rest of the week. This suggests that part of the problem is confined to the organization’s offices. At the time of writing, the cause and effects of the incident have not been confirmed.
Attacks on media
Media companies aren’t immune to cybercrime. Earlier this year, a hacker hijacked the publishing tools of Fast Company to send push notifications to the magazine’s readers. Journalists are targeted as well. Security company Proofpoint explained how cybercriminals attack reporters for espionage in a July report.
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