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Threat actors have launched a major cyber attack on US media outlet The Philadelphia Inquirer, leaving the paper to recover from the worst disruption it has faced in almost three decades.
The Inquirer is the most-read daily newspaper in the state of Pennsylvania and the third-longest continuously operational newspaper in all of the US.
Now, the media outlet is working to return to normal operations after a cyber attack targeted its systems, leading to the cancellation of the regular Sunday newspaper and delaying online stories. A print edition was published on Monday (15 May) but without classified ads and death notices. These are expected to return on Wednesday.
The media outlet was notified of the cyber attack on Thursday (11 May) by the security vendor it uses to manage its network security, but it is unsure when the cyber attack first occurred nor whether any customer data was stolen in the attack.
The FBI is now investigating the incident, which is the greatest disruption to The Inquirer in 27 years, following a blizzard bringing the paper to a standstill in 1996.
The attack comes at a dire time for the newspaper, only days before the Philadelphia mayoral primary election.
However, the paper has since revealed that the cyber attack will not affect its coverage, despite the full extent of the attack yet to be discovered.
“The Philadelphia Inquirer and outside cyber security experts have yet to determine the full extent of a cyber attack on the news organization last week, but the disruption won’t affect coverage of the hotly contested mayoral primary election Tuesday,” the paper said in an article posted on Tuesday.
The newspapers newsroom and servers were affected by the attack, leaving the media outlet to look for temporary alternatives. Now, the paper has said that it has formulated a solution.
“News staffers covering Tuesday’s election will work together at a temporary newsroom in Center City,” it said.
“The cyber attack affected internet servers and the effort to restore them requires systems to intermittently be turned off, Hughes said. The newsroom is expected to reopen Wednesday.”
It is currently unknown who is behind the attack, and the paper’s publisher Lisa Hughes has declined to reveal whether The Inquirer received a ransom demand or whether they have been contacted by the group.
Hughes has also said that an exact timeline for the recovery is unavailable but that the issue is currently under investigation.
“Should we discover that any personal data was affected, we will notify and support affected individuals,” she said.
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