Cyberattack at Philadelphia Newspaper Disrupts Publishing and Printing Operations

The newspaper publishing industry has been struggling for quite some time — facing multiple challenges, among them declining circulation numbers for their printed editions combined with increased paper and labor costs. But Pennsylvania's largest newspaper, The Philadelphia Inquirer, suffered another blow late last week, thanks to a cyberattack that prevented the publication of its regular Sunday print edition and caused a scaled-back Monday print edition without a classified section (including death notices).

Workers were also unable to enter the newspaper's office or access data management systems, and the newspaper's backend caused its website to crash and operate slowly.

It marked only the second time that a disruption caused The Inquirer to cease publishing. The first time was the result of Mother Nature, due to a blizzard in January 1996 that shut down operations for two days.

The cyberattack also couldn't have come at a worse time for the venerable daily newspaper. The Philadelphia 76ers were in a game 7 winner-advance NBA showdown with the Boston Celtics, Taylor Swift was in town for a sold-out, three-night concert and, most importantly, the Democratic Philadelphia mayoral primary election was being held Tuesday in a hotly contested race that included five candidates who were considered a toss-up of winning. (Cherelle Parker was the eventual winner.)

The Republican mayoral candidate is running unopposed but, since Philadelphia hasn't elected a Republican candidate for mayor since the 1940s, the Democratic primary will most surely determine the 100th mayor for the City of Brotherly Love. And, since Pennsylvania is a swing state, the Philadelphia mayoral race could also have national implications for the upcoming presidential election.

Lisa Hughes, The Inquirer's publisher and CEO, declined to give a timeline of when operations would be fully restored. "The security of our network and systems is a top priority. Based on the results of our investigation, we will take action as needed to help prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future," she said in a prepared statement.

It's also too early to say what data — including that potentially of readers and reporters — might have been stolen or compromised. The newspaper is reportedly working with third-party data forensic specialists from Kroll to restore systems and determine the full extent of the breach. The FBI was also informed of the situation.

Hughes declined to say if ransomware was involved, if any ransom demands were being made, or if any group or individual responsible for the attack was in contact with the news organization. The disruption came an an inopportune time for the newspaper, given its need to provide important mayoral election coverage. However, the timing makes a ransomware scenario seem quite plausible.

If that's the case, it's not the first time a newspaper publishing organization was targeted. The Los Angeles Times suffered a major ransomware attack in 2018, and the Guardian was forced to close its offices for several months following a ransomware attack last December.

It's all just another reminder for print providers with access to customer data to maintain strict security protocols and procedures. As a result, an increasing number of commercial, healthcare, and direct mail print providers are obtaining compliance certifications to prove they can manage data safely and comply with clients' SLA security mandates. It's become another key cost of doing business, since customers are gravitating toward those companies that can do it best — and maintain the necessary third-party certifications to prove it.