Ransomware Attack Hits The Guardian Newspaper

One of the world’s most famous newspapers has been hit by a serious ransomware attack which forced it to send staff home, it has revealed.

The incident began late on Tuesday night local time and has affected “parts of the company’s technology infrastructure,” and “behind-the-scenes services,” according to Jim Waterson, media editor at The Guardian.

Staff have been told to work from home for the remainder of the week, although the paper’s online publishing does not appear to have been impacted.

“As everyone knows, there has been a serious incident which has affected our IT network and systems in the past 24 hours. We believe this to be a ransomware attack but are continuing to consider all possibilities,” read a missive from Guardian Media Group CEO, Anna Bateson, and editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner.

“We are continuing to publish globally to our website and apps and although some of our internal systems are affected, we are confident we will be able to publish in print tomorrow. Our technology teams have been working to deal with all aspects of this incident, with the vast majority of our staff able to work from home as we did during the pandemic.”

It’s unclear whether any sensitive data has been taken as part of the raid.

Oz Alashe, CEO of CybSafe, argued that ransomware, like any malware-based attacks, can be mitigated.

“It starts with basic cyber-hygiene: network segmentation, backups, regular patching, and vulnerability assessments. However, organizations also need to embrace a working culture that promotes positive security behaviors, treating it as a core value or an active process, not just a yearly compliance exercise,” he said.

“People want to be part of the solution. They are the crucial first and last line of defense. Organizations must give them the tools and training to allow them to be effective.”

Editorial credit icon image: Piotr Swat / Shutterstock.com