As it prepares for the launch of its new TV channel talkTV, News UK’s parent company News Corp has confirmed it has been “the target of persistent cyberattack activity”.
In a letter to investors, the company added that it is working with an outside cybersecurity firm, to conduct “an investigation into the circumstances of the activity to determine its nature, scope, duration and impacts.”
“The company’s preliminary analysis indicates that foreign government involvement may be associated with this activity, and that data was taken,” the company reported in a filing with US regulators.
News Corp said its systems housing customer and financial data were not affected and that it is “remediating the issue, and to date has not experienced any related interruptions to its business operations or systems.” It added that based on its investigation to date, the it believes “the activity is contained.”
“We believe it is important that other media organisations be made aware of this threat in order to take appropriate precautions, and we are providing technical details of the attack to the media information sharing and analysis organisation,” said the company.
News Corp is the latest in a series of cyber attacks aimed at media companies. Last year, Australian broadcaster Nine was forced to abandon its newsroom due to a suspected cyber attack, while in June US company Cox Media Group announced it had been hit by a ransomware attack.
