{"id":29462,"date":"2023-01-11T23:59:05","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T23:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/11\/the-guardian-confirms-december-cyberattack-involved-ransomware\/"},"modified":"2023-01-11T23:59:05","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T23:59:05","slug":"the-guardian-confirms-december-cyberattack-involved-ransomware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/11\/the-guardian-confirms-december-cyberattack-involved-ransomware\/","title":{"rendered":"The Guardian confirms December cyberattack involved ransomware"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Guardian News & Media Ltd., the publisher of the U.K. newspaper The Guardian, has confirmed<\/a> a cyberattack that disrupted its internal services in December<\/a> was a ransomware attack.<\/p>\n

In an email sent to staff on Wednesday local time, the attack was described as a \u201chighly sophisticated cyber-attack involving unauthorized third-party access to parts of our network.\u201d The attack vector is believed to have been most likely a successful phishing email.<\/p>\n

Personal data of U.K. staff members are said to have been accessed during the incident. Reader and subscriber data, along with information relating to Guardian staff in the U.S. and Australia, is not believed to be accessed.<\/p>\n

No evidence has been found of the data being shared online, with employees told that the risk of fraud is therefore considered low. The email did warn, though, that\u00a0\u201cthere is the potential for these types of data to be combined and used for identity fraud.\u201d Affected staff are being offered free support against identity theft from Experian plc.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe this was a criminal ransomware attack and not the specific targeting of the Guardian as a media organization,\u201d the email read.\u00a0\u201cThese attacks have become more frequent and sophisticated in the past three years, against organizations of all sizes, and kinds, in all countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attack, which occurred in the week before Christmas, did not affect the online publishing of The Guardian but resulted in a\u00a0disruption to behind-the-scenes services. Employees were also told to work from home while the attack was being dealt with.<\/p>\n

Forward three weeks and Guardian staff are still working from home and a return to working at the newspaper\u2019s office has been postponed until early February. The Guardian expects some critical systems to be back up and running \u201cwithin the next two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a lesson that no matter the industry you are in, you are a target for ransomware,\u201d\u00a0Erich Kron, security awareness advocate at security awareness training company KnowBe4 Inc.<\/a>, told SiliconANGLE. \u201cThe initial infection vector here, email phishing, is one of the most common and successful attack types when it comes to ransomware.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOrganizations should ensure they have good, tested, and off-line backups, and should ensure they are educating their staff on how to identify and report phishing emails,\u201d Kron added. \u201cIn addition, data loss prevention controls are critical as bad actors often steal data and use the threat of releasing it publicly to extort victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo: The Guardian<\/h5>\n
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