Lee Enterprises Cyberattack: News Outlets Face Disruption

Lee Enterprises Confirms Widespread Cyberattack Impacting Numerous News Outlets

Lee Enterprises, a major player in the publishing industry, has officially acknowledged a cyberattack affecting its systems. This incident is causing ongoing disruptions at a significant number of newspapers and media organizations throughout the United States.

Details of the Incident

A communication from Lee CEO Kevin Mowbray, shared with clients and reviewed by TechCrunch, indicated the company is actively working to restore full functionality to its systems following the cyberattack, which occurred earlier in the week.

Tracy Rouch, a representative for Lee Enterprises, verified to TechCrunch that the disruptions stem from a “cybersecurity event.” The company’s current focus is on assessing whether any information was compromised as a result of the attack.

The spokesperson refrained from disclosing whether any contact had been established with the perpetrators or providing a projected timeline for complete recovery.

Limited Information Released

Lee Enterprises has not detailed the specific nature of the cyberattack and has limited its public statements to the aforementioned email communication.

As one of the largest newspaper publishers in the U.S., Lee provides publishing technologies and website services to 72 different publications. This includes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which initially reported on the incident on Friday.

Impact on Publications

The Post-Dispatch reported that while publication was not halted entirely, the majority of this week’s newspaper editions experienced some form of impact. Certain editions were notably smaller in size.

The Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming is among the other news outlets affected by the cyberattack. According to a report published on its website, the Star-Tribune stated that many of Lee’s newspapers were initially unable to construct pages and publish content, though efforts were underway to print and distribute back issues.

The newspaper’s website also issued a warning that the cyberattack could potentially cause temporary interruptions to access for subscription accounts.

Internal Communications Reveal System Outages

An internal email sent to all Lee employees on February 3rd, obtained by TechCrunch, revealed that a data center hosting applications and services utilized by both Lee employees and its media outlets was offline. This included systems related to subscriber services.

A subsequent email, dispatched later the same day, indicated that call center applications, certain phone lines, and other essential systems – including the VPN for remote workers and single sign-on access – were inaccessible.

Ongoing Disruptions and Financial Reporting

As of Monday, the outages remain unresolved. Lee Enterprises declined to make its CISO, Rob Hoffpauir, available for comment.

Despite the ongoing cyberattack, Lee Enterprises released its latest quarterly earnings report this week. The company reported earnings of $144.6 million for the fiscal first quarter, representing a 7% decrease year-over-year, without mentioning the outage or cyberattack.

Previous Cyberattack

This marks the second confirmed cyberattack targeting Lee Enterprises within the last five years. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2021 that Iranian hackers had compromised Lee’s content management system as part of a disinformation campaign leading up to the 2020 presidential election.

Contact Information

If you possess additional information regarding the cyberattack at Lee Enterprises, you can securely contact Zack Whittaker via Signal and WhatsApp at +1 646-755-8849. Documents can also be shared securely with TechCrunch through SecureDrop.