A number of U.S. newspapers worked to shore up
systems in the wake of a malware attack that disrupted the printing of several
days’ editions at the end of December, The Chicago Tribune and others reported.
The attack
hit Tribune Publishing papers and former Tribune operations that use Tribune
systems, including the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune.
The malware
in question was Ryuk ransomware, according to the paper. The FBI is
investigating the attack, the paper said. The Department of Homeland Security
is also investigating, according to a spokesperson, Reuters reported.
California-based
Check Point Research provided an early analysis of
Ryuk in August. Ryuk attacks are targeted, Check Point said, and “some
organizations paid an exceptionally large ransom in order to retrieve their
files.”
A group
linked to Ryuk, Grim Spider, pocketed Bitcoin worth more than $380,000 in
December, The New York Times reported. A
source familiar with the investigation said there was no ransom demand in
association with the December malware attack, the Chicago Tribune said.
There was
also “no evidence that customer credit card information or personally
identifiable information has been compromised," said a statement from
Marisa Kollias, Tribune communications vice president. "The personal data
of our subscribers, online users, and advertising clients has not been
compromised.”
The attack
meant some Tribune Publishing papers went out without classified ads and some
paid death notices.
West Coast
editions of The New York Times and Wall Street Journal were also affected, as
they rely on an LA Times printing plant, the LA Times said.
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