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As US Newspaper Outages Drag On, Lee Enterprises Blames Cyberattack for Encrypting Critical Systems
Lee Enterprises, one of the largest newspaper publishers in the United States, has attributed the ongoing disruptions to its operations to a ransomware attack that encrypted critical systems. The cyberattack is now in its third week, resulting in outages affecting numerous publications.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lee Enterprises stated that preliminary investigations suggest that unauthorized individuals gained access to their network, encrypted essential applications, and removed certain files. The company has not disclosed any information about whether sensitive or personal data was compromised during the incident.
Lee Enterprises notified law enforcement regarding the attack and anticipates the disruptions to continue for several more weeks as it works to restore affected systems.
The cyberattack has led to delays in distributing print publications across its portfolio of titles, while online services have been partially restricted. The company’s operations, including billing, collections, and vendor payments, have also been impacted.
Lee Enterprises is one of the largest newspaper publishers in the United States, providing publishing and website services to 72 publications throughout the country. It initially notified affected media outlets on February 3rd that one of its data centers, which hosts applications and services utilized by Lee and its customers – including those for paying subscribers – was “down,” as revealed by an email sent by Lee CEO Kevin Mowbray obtained by TechCrunch.
The news comes amid ongoing issues with newspaper operations, with several Lee-owned publications still reporting disruptions to their regular news-printing procedures.
Source: techcrunch.com
