A photo of a newspaper box with the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. … [+]
The Philadelphia Inquirer was hit by a cyber attack that prevented the newspaper from printing its weekly edition, according to an announcement on Inquirer‘s website. The newspaper may not be able to print the full edition from Monday, although their website is currently open and running slower than usual.
It is not clear who could be behind the cyber attack, nor how much damage the unnamed hackers could have caused to the newspaper. The Inquirer reportedly working with the FBI, which has not publicly commented on the attack.
Ransomware attacks have become an incredibly popular way for hackers to get money from companies and institutions. They usually involve breaking into an online system with valuable information, and hackers will digitally lock that information with encryption that only hackers can unlock. A ransom is demanded, usually in cryptocurrency, and if the money is not paid, the hackers threaten to either release the information publicly or keep it locked up indefinitely.
The cyberattack was first recognized Saturday morning when the content management system, or CMS, used to publish articles on the newspaper’s website stopped working. Journalists developed a solution that allowed them to publish directly to Inquirer Web page.
Inquirer Publisher Lisa Hughes reportedly sent an internal email on Sunday to all staff at the paper informing them that they were not coming to the office on Monday.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we work to fully restore systems and conclude this investigation as quickly as possible,” Hughes said, according to Inquirer. “We will keep our staff and readers updated as we learn more.”
The Los Angeles Times the newspaper was the target of a cyber attack 2018but the targets of ransomware attacks have become more diverse in recent years, including JBS Meats 2021 and the city of Dallas this month. The Dallas attack disrupted everything from automated emergency response systems to the court system.
In fact, government systems in Dallas are still reeling from the latest attack and could take months to fully restore capabilities, according to city authorities. JBS Meats, on the other hand, paid the attackers 11 million dollars to restore your data.
Forbes – Innovation