Tag Archive for: Stations

Sinclair hit by ransomware attack, TV stations disrupted |

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Sinclair Broadcast Group, which operates dozens of TV stations across the U.S. including WPBN and WTOM in northern Michigan, said some of its servers and work stations were encrypted with ransomware and that data was stolen from its network.

The company said it started investigating Saturday and on Sunday it found that some of its office and operational networks were disrupted. The broadcast group did not immediately say how many TV stations were directly affected.

The Hunt Valley, Maryland-based company either owns or operates 21 regional sports networks and owns, operates or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets.

In Toledo, Ohio, WNWO appeared to be off the air Monday afternoon. The station posted on Facebook that “our operations are currently limited. We will provide further updates as they become available.”

On WJLA, a Sinclair-owned ABC affiliate in Washington, anchors opened their 4 p.m. newscast by telling viewers the station was under cyberattack and its computers and video servers were down. Nashville, Tennessee’s WZTV put out a notice on its website Monday about “serious technical issues” at the TV station affecting its ability to stream content.

“We are also currently unable to access our email and your phone calls to the station,” it said.

Sinclair said it’s taken measures to contain the breach and that its investigation is ongoing. However, it said that the data breach has caused — and may continue to cause — disruption to parts of its business, including aspects of local advertisements by local broadcast stations. The company said it is working to restore operations.

Sinclair said it can’t determine whether or not the data breach will have a material impact on its business, operations or financial results.

Ransomware attacks, in which cyber criminals encrypt an organization’s data and then demand payment to unscramble it, are a growing scourge in the United States. The Biden administration has pledged to disrupt and prosecute criminal networks like the one that attacked a major U.S. pipeline company in…

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Fresno FOX affiliate among TV stations disrupted by hackers. Here are the attack’s impacts

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Oct. 19—Some operations at Fresno’s FOX television affiliate, KMPH Channel 26, and its parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group have been disrupted by a ransomware attack on their computer systems.

Justin Willis, an anchor for the station’s Great Day morning show, took to Facebook on Tuesday to explain that the weekend attack by hackers at the station and at Sinclair “left us unable to log into our systems that allow us to produce our newscasts as we normally would.”

On Facebook and on Twitter, the station acknowledged Monday that systems at Sinclair had been hacked, reporting that “certain servers and workstations in its environment were encrypted with ransomware and that certain office and operational networks were disrupted.”

Also on Monday, in a press release and in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Sinclair reported that the hack “has caused — and may continue to cause — disruption to parts of the company’s business,” including service to its advertisers.

The company’s statement added that “data was also taken from the company’s network.”

Telephone calls from The Bee could not be completed to either the KMPH studio in Fresno or to Sinclair’s headquarters in Maryland as the company’s phone systems were down.

The station reported Tuesday that all Sinclair stations were operational, but that “certain features, such as online live streams, have been interrupted.”

Cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, in its online publication The Record, reported Sunday that the attack “took down the Sinclair internal corporate network, email servers, phone services, and the broadcasting systems of local TV stations.”

Citing multiple sources, The Record reported that “as a result of the attack, many channels weren’t able to broadcast morning shows, news segments, and scheduled NFL games, according to a barrage of tweets coming from viewers and the TV channels themselves.”

The Fresno station’s social media posts and the company’s statements came after Sinclair said it had identified “a potential security incident” on Saturday. On Sunday, it determined that some of its systems were affected by ransomware.

In early July, Sinclair alerted its stations of “a serious…

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1,000 gas stations report running out of fuel as Colonial Pipeline hack leads to panic-buying in Southeast U.S.

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State and federal officials are scrambling to find alternate routes to deliver gasoline in the Southeast U.S. after a hack of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline led to panic-buying that contributed to more than 1,000 gas stations running out of fuel.

There is no gasoline shortage, according to government officials and energy analysts, but if the pipeline shutdown continues past the weekend, it could create broader fuel disruptions.

The Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45% of what is consumed on the East Coast, was hit on Friday with a cyberattack by hackers who lock up computer systems and demand a ransom to release them. The attack raised concerns, once again, about the vulnerability of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The pipeline runs from the Gulf Coast to the New York metropolitan region, but states in the Southeast are more reliant on the pipeline for fuel. Other parts of the country have more sources to tap. For example, a substantial amount of fuel is delivered to states in the Northeast by massive tankers.

“What you’re feeling is not a lack of supply or a supply issue. What we have is a transportation issue,” said Jeanette McGee, spokeswoman for the AAA auto club. “There is ample supply to fuel the United States for the summer, but what we’re having an issue with is getting it to those gas stations because the pipeline is down.”

In North Carolina, 28% of gas stations were out of fuel, according to Gasbuddy.com, a technology firm that tracks real-time fuel prices across the country. In Raleigh-Durham it was worse, with 72% of gas stations out of fuel.

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper urged people Wednesday to only buy gas if their tank is low, and to report any instances of price gouging.

“We will continue our efforts to help make sure there is an adequate supply of fuel,” Cooper wrote on Twitter.

Cooper declared a state of emergency Monday, initiating fuel waivers that make it easier to transport fuel into the state.

Georgians were also getting squeezed, with 17.5% of stations there out of gas, according to Gasbuddy.com. In Virginia, 17% of stations were out, and in South Carolina, 16% had…

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TV stations – stop broadcasting your passwords!

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During a broadcast interview conducted via a Zoom video chat, the cameraman no doubt imagined they were getting a terrific angle pointing over the reporter’s shoulder. However, what ended up on screen could have put security at risk…
Graham Cluley