Philadelphia Inquirer cyberattack remains under investigation
The Philadelphia Inquirer and outside cybersecurity experts have yet to determine the full extent of a cyberattack on the news organization last week, but the disruption won’t affect coverage of the hotly contested mayoral primary election Tuesday.
Lisa Hughes, The Inquirer’s publisher and chief executive, declined to say how seriously the cyberattack affected The Inquirer’s systems while the investigation continues. The attack prevented the publication of the regular Sunday print edition; subscribers received the early edition composed on Friday evening.
The attack is The Inquirer’s most significant publication disruption since a blizzard in 1996. With Inquirer offices closed as a precaution, staffers worked from home Monday as they did through the pandemic. But this time, they had to use workarounds to access publishing software and business systems. The Inquirer published a print edition Monday, but without classified ads, including death notices, which are expected to return to the newspaper Wednesday.
News staffers covering Tuesday’s election will work together at a temporary newsroom in Center City. The cyberattack 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.
The cyberattack gained international attention, with CNN, Fortune, the New York Times, Associated Press, and the Guardian reporting on the news.
» READ MORE: The Philadelphia Inquirer’s operations continue to be disrupted by a cyber incident
Who committed the attack, how they accessed The Inquirer’s systems, what was targeted, and whether this was a result of ransomware remained unanswered. News organizations, including the Los Angeles Times and the Guardian have been victims of ransomware, software that freezes systems until the organization pays the perpetrators, in recent years.
Hughes declined to say Monday whether The Inquirer received a ransom demand or whether the individual or group responsible for the attack contacted the news organization.
The Inquirer notified the FBI of the attack, Hughes said. The federal law enforcement agency has said it typically does conduct an…
