On Saturday, an attack targeting many American newspapers was identified. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the source of the cyber attack is outside the United States. The virus spread through the Tribune Publishing network, which resulted in infecting key systems for production and newspaper printing. The situation concerns many editorial offices in the United States.
The cyber attack delayed the distribution of the Saturday releases of the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union Tribune. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times also had problems.
Despite the indications that the source of incidents originates from outside the US, specialists suggest to abstain from pointing the finger. They emphasize that it is too early to say who is responsible for the attack.
The only thing known so far is that the goal of hackers was to disable the infrastructure, not theft of information. The Tribune Publishing stressed that "the personal data of our users and advertising clients have not been violated". The company apologized for any inconvenience, while thanking for patience.
The spokeswoman for Tribune Publishing, said the incident had an impact on the entire company. When asked to provide details, she refused to comment. It is not known exactly how many New York Times subscribers received delayed deliveries. The paper ensured all recipients who have not yet received the weekend issue that they will be delivered soon. "We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience. Thank you for your patience and support "- says a special statement.
The IT departments immediately tried to eliminate errors in the system, thus isolating malicious software. Their actions were effectively hampered by numerous system traps, constructed by hackers. Specialists managed to quarantine some of the infected servers. The remaining contributed to the spread of the virus on the entire network, affecting directly the production.
The publisher and editor of Union-Tribune, stressed that his newspaper had very serious losses. "From 85% to 90% of the Saturday edition of" Union-Tribune "did not reach subscribers on Saturday morning." Many contractors were not able to pick up products at a later date.
Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, explained that the incident was caused an experienced and highly skilled hacker. "Usually, when someone tries to disrupt important digital resources, such as a newspaper, you look at an experienced and sophisticated hacker," he stressed.
Source CyberDefence24: Cyberatak na amerykańskie gazety. Czarny weekend czołowych redakcji
