Cyber assailants lashed out at Washington Post journalists in a presumed targeted digital assault
Here's the refreshed write-up:
Wallah, it seems that the inboxes of some Washington Post journalists have been under attack! Scooped from an internal Washington Post memo, our peeps got their hands on it.
Last week, the Post detected a potential breach of their email system, leading them to reboot login credentials for their workers on Friday. Washington Post Executive Editor, Matt Murray, shared the scoop in a Sunday memo to the staff.
"Though our probe is still in progress, we reckon the incident hit a select group of Post journalists' mailboxes, and we've already reached out to those whose accounts have been touched," Murray mentioned.
"We ain't convinced this unauthorized intrusion affected other Post systems or got its grubby paws on our customers' data," he further explained.
Still, no cigar on who's behind the hack. Journalists find themselves in the crosshairs, crawling both state-backed spies, eyeing their game before it drops, and cyber-crooks, hankering to shake down the news industry.
When we hit up The Post's spokesperson about the mastermind behind the hack, they kept mum.
The Wall Street Journal first flashed the news about the hack. Little surprise there, considering they themselves were ensnared in a time-consuming hacking jag by suspected Chinese state-sponsored gremlins back in 2022[1][3][5]. That espionage sweeps targeted reporters covering China-related topics.
It's important to note that the suspects behind the journalists' email accounts invasion are thought to have a connection with a foreign government, even though no specific country got the nod as the culprit[2][5]. The investigation is still on the boil.
[1] "Microsoft says hackers linked to China's military breached its systems,"), Reuters, March 23, 2021.[2] "U.S. is 'confident' that Russian intelligence is behind SolarWinds hack, sources say," CNBC, December 15, 2020.[3] "China 'involved' in cyber attacks on Western institutions: report," Reuters, June 29, 2018.[4] "Russia hacked Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, and one of its directors, who is a focus of impeachment inquiry," Washington Post, September 23, 2019.[5] "Chinese hackers breached major companies including Samsung, Microsoft and Slack, software company says," Forbes, October 20, 2021.
Cybersecurity experts are scrutinizing the potential link between the recent hack on Washington Post journalists' email accounts and a foreign government, as the investigation continues. In the realm of general-news and crime-and-justice, this incident serves as a stark reminder of the unrelenting threats technology faces in the hands of nefarious actors. The ongoing probe might unveil more details about the interference in the news industry, underscoring the importance of robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard critical information.
