2023-04-22 14:33:12
A group by the name of “Play” claimed responsibility for the cyberattack and announced on the Darknet to be in possession of data, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) told the Keystone-ATS news agency on Saturday, confirming information from various media. It is possible that the data will be released as early as Monday, she added.
Ransom demanded from the NZZ
According to their own information, the hackers want to publish data on April 24, in particular concerning salaries, projects and employees. They would also have demanded a ransom from the NZZ, learned Keystone-ATS from sources inside the newspaper. He has not spoken officially on this subject.
In an internal memo, NZZ Director General Felix Graf “urgently” called on staff not to download or open any data from the Darknet. There is a high risk of malware and other viruses being downloaded.
According to a press release, this could jeopardize, if not destroy, the work done in recent weeks to restore the systems.
Magnitude still unknown
The extent of the theft is under investigation, says the NZZ. In connection with this incident, the company is working with the competent authorities, the police and its own cybersecurity experts.
The common computer systems of the publishing houses NZZ and CH Media were attacked by hackers on March 24th. As a result, the three titles Aargauer Zeitung, Luzerner Zeitung and St-Galler Tagblatt had to temporarily give up their various regional parts.
Encryption techniques
The NZZ also appeared in a reduced form on certain days. Since then, the newspapers have resumed their normal publication.
Cybercriminals carried out a ransomware attack. This allows hackers to break into a victim’s computer system and gain access to or block systems or data. They can also exclude their victims using encryption techniques and demand a ransom.
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The business of ransomware cyberattacks is very lucrative
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