A ransomware attack which took place on The Watertown Daily Times is said to have encrypted the database of the media company on a partial note. Highly placed sources say that the malware attack led to the disruption of the Sunday and Monday edition of printing and distribution of the daily edition, but did not compromise any info related to personal subscribers or advertisers data.
Cybersecurity Insiders learned that the hackers managed to intercept the database of the Johnson Newspaper Corp, impacting the servers used for the content sharing of newspaper editions to be distributed in Hudson, Massena, and Watertown.
Security analysts investigating the incident confirmed that no data related to the one hosted on the newspaper website, subscriptions and emails was affected.
Nate Nichols, the IT Manager of the Johnson Newspaper Corporation has confirmed the incident and said that the cyber attack wasn’t launched to compromise any personal data.
RYUK Ransomware variant is said to have encrypted the database of the media corporation on Saturday afternoon and the malware virus could have sneaked into the network via a phishing email attack.
For the Sunday and Monday editions, readers could access the content related to comic section, Life&Livelihood, and NY Auto Finder. The main news sections, sports, and Sunday weekly were available for reading on a partial note- despite the efforts of the IT staff who reportedly worked all through the Saturday night to bring back the services to normalcy.
NOTE 1- In a research conducted by Forbes, cyber crooks who are seen distributing RYUK ransomware have so far succeeded in reaping in $ 4 million in less than a year from private firms and individuals.
NOTE 2- Founded in 1861 in Watertown, New York, the Watertown Daily Times offers news coverage in Jefferson County, Lewis County, St Lawrence County, and Watertown. It is owned by Johnson Newspaper Corporation which has also recently invested in radio and TV stations broadcasting live news coverage.
