UK's Guardian hit by suspected ransomware attack

(Image Courtesy: The Guardian)

The UK's The Guardian newspaper has been "hit by a serious IT incident", which is believed to be a ransomware attack.

In a ransomware attack, bad actors hijack data by siphoning it off to their servers and lock the systems down with a prominent message. Usually, a demand for a ransom in exchange for the data follows.

The Guardian reported that the incident was first noticed on December 20 night and the incident "affected parts of the company’s technology infrastructure". Staff were informed to work from home.

The publication shared that online publishing remained unaffected and stories would continue to be published on the website and the app. The Guardian was confident, "it could still produce Thursday’s print newspaper".

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

Speaking to the BBC, Jake Moore, global cyber-security advisor at ESET said "news organisations have become a regular target for cyber-attacks this year, and these attacks often have even more damaging effects on the companies targeted".