As US newspaper outages drag on, Lee Enterprises blames cyberattack for encrypting critical systems
Lee said it was analyzing whether sensitive or personal data was stolen in the cyberattack.
Newspaper publishing giant Lee Enterprises said an ongoing cyberattack is causing disruptions across its business, and is now in its third week of outages.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Lee said it was conducting a forensic analysis to determine if sensitive or personal data was stolen in the cyberattack.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that threat actors unlawfully accessed the Company’s network, encrypted critical applications, and exfiltrated certain files,” said Lee in its filing, describing the incident as a ransomware attack.
Lee said it anticipated the outages to last for several more weeks as the company restores affected systems. The company said it had notified law enforcement.
“The incident impacted the Company’s operations, including distribution of products, billing, collections, and vendor payments. Distribution of print publications across our portfolio of products experienced delays, and online operations were partially limited,” the company said in the filing.