Sinclair Broadcast Group went down over the weekend officially due to a ransomware attack, and the data was stolen from its network.
- According to staffers at some TV stations, the attack disrupted the production of local newscasts on Sunday and Monday.
- The company asked all Sinclair stations to change passwords as quickly as possible following a security breach.
Sinclair Broadcast Group went down over the weekend officially due to a ransomware attack, and the data was stolen from its network.
Sinclair is the second-largest television station operator in the United States. It owns or operates a total of 193 stations across the country in over 100 markets.
The alleged attack compromised the Sinclair internal corporate network, email servers, TV station’s broadcasting systems, and phone services.
The company said it has yet to determine whether the cyberattack will have a “material impact on its business, operations or financial results.”
The intrusion "has caused -- and may continue to cause -- disruption to parts of the company's business, including certain aspects of its provision of local advertisements by its local broadcast stations on behalf of its customers," the company told investors.
Sources have told BleepingComputer that ransomware operators shut down Active Directory services for the domain, paralyzing the services at the company and its affiliates.
As a result of the attack, many channels couldn’t broadcast morning shows, news segments, and scheduled NFL games, according to a barrage of tweets coming from viewers and the TV channels themselves.
In a statement on Monday, Sinclair said it was working with a cybersecurity firm and notified law enforcement and other government agencies.
For the latest cyber threats and the latest hacking news please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
You may be interested in reading: How to Survive the COVID Time Cyber Security Threats?