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Security News IT

The Guardian Says Ransomware Attack Compromised Staff's Personal Data (theguardian.com) 11

Last month, The Guardian closed its offices after being hit by a "highly sophisticated" ransomware attack. In an update to staff, Guardian group chief Anna Bateson and newspaper editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said intruders were able to access the personal data of UK employees. Engadget reports: They described the incident as a "highly sophisticated cyber-attack involving unauthorised third-party access to parts of our network," most likely triggered by a "phishing" attempt in which the victim is tricked, often via email, into downloading malware. The Guardian said it had no reason to believe the personal data of readers and subscribers had been accessed. It is not believed that the personal data of Guardian US and Guardian Australia staff has been accessed either. However, the message to staff said there had been no evidence of data being exposed online, so the risk of fraud is considered to be low.

The attack was detected on 20 December and affected parts of the company's technology infrastructure. Staff, most of whom have been working from home since the attack, have been able to maintain production of a daily newspaper, while online publishing has been unaffected. The Guardian has been using external experts to gauge the extent of the attack and to recover its systems. Although the Guardian expects some critical systems to be back up and running "within the next two weeks," a return to office working has been postponed until early February in order to allow IT staff to focus on network and system restoration.

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The Guardian Says Ransomware Attack Compromised Staff's Personal Data

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  • I lay dollars to donuts the hackers are looking for reporter contacts and info exchanges between insiders and the Guardian. Watch for another Jamal Khashoggi incident

    • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Train0987 ( 1059246 )

      Sounds like a typical drive-by phishing attempt that worked. Somebody clicked on something in an email that they shouldn't and got their systems encrypted The 'highly sophisticated' line is just cover since these people expect you to believe they're all smarter than you.

      • There is no shortage of Countries and/or individuals who would like to see the Guardian silenced. Whatever the truth is, we will never know, however it seems the running of the paper has not been obstructed.
    • I lay dollars to donuts the hackers are looking for reporter contacts and info exchanges between insiders and the Guardian. Watch for another Jamal Khashoggi incident

      Probably getting a reporter to bite with the promise of a juicy story lead in the link.

    • by shanen ( 462549 )

      I lay dollars to donuts the hackers are looking for reporter contacts and info exchanges between insiders and the Guardian. Watch for another Jamal Khashoggi incident

      Needs to be requoted against censor trolls with pushed buttons. Or maybe they're hackers working for MBS? A later comment considers Putin's goons, but I think it could only be a training exercise for them. In contrast MBS certainly has plenty of money to burn hunting down journalists and doesn't worry about burning down the world at the same time.

      The dollars are highly relevant, too. The Guardian lacks any solid and sustainable business model. At least none that I can detect. And suggestions for alternative

  • But who knows less about tech and the risks than journalists?? Read any tech article in any newspaper and tell me the writer showed actual understanding or insight.

    CLICK HERE! For sure nothing bad will happen.

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