A server outage affecting the Los Angeles Times and other Tribune Publishing-linked newspapers has been identified as a foreign-based cyberattack.
The malware attack, which spread a “Ryuk” computer virus through the company’s network last week, caused delays in production and delivery this weekend, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. A source told the outlet, however, that it was too early to tell whether the attack — signs of which were first noticed late Thursday — was sponsored by a foreign government or just a rogue group looking to “disable infrastructure” rather than “steal information.”
Marisa Kollias, a spokeswoman for Tribune Publishing, said all titles were impacted by the attack, particularly Florida’s Sun Sentinel, according to Tribune Publishing’s flagship paper the Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing also owns the New York Daily News, the Baltimore Sun, and the Orlando Sentinel, among others.
No “personal data of our subscribers, online users, and advertising clients” has been compromised, Kollias said.
Though Tribune Publishing sold the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union Tribune, its sister paper, to Patrick Soon-Shiong in June, the outlets still share common online systems, including software. The West Coast editions of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times were also impacted because they are printed at the the Los Angeles Times’ press.
The attack was reported to the FBI on Friday. The Department of Homeland Security is additionally aware of the incident.
“We are aware of reports of a potential cyber incident effecting several news outlets, and are working with our government and industry partners to better understand the situation,” DHS spokeswoman Katie Waldman told the Washington Examiner.
