05-03-2025
Richmond Times-Dispatch parent company victim of a cyberattack
The parent company of the Richmond Times-Dispatch was the victim of a February cybersecurity attack that disrupted operations at the newspaper and dozens of others it owns.
Why it matters: RTD's daily newspaper has been smaller than usual, and omitting some regular features and late-breaking stories, for about a month due to the attack, according to a statement from the paper's new executive editor, Encarnacion Pyle.
The big picture: Lee Enterprises owns dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Roanoke Times and Charlottesville Daily Progress and 10 others in Virginia.
The attackers accessed Lee's network, files and encrypted applications and managed to disrupt print and online operations across its portfolio, plus billing and vendor payments, the Iowa-based media company wrote in an SEC filing.
The latest: On Thursday, Qilin, a Russia-linked ransomware group, took credit for the attack, according to cybersecurity publications.
The group said it obtained "investor records, financial arrangements that raise questions, payments to journalists and publishers," and more, per Bleeping Computer.
Lee has until March 5 to pay an unspecified ransom or Qilin says it will leak the stolen data, per Security Week.
Qilin was the group behind last year's cyber attack on London hospitals, causing them to cancel hundreds of operations and appointments, the BBC reported.
What they're saying: " We are aware of the claims and are currently investigating them," Tracy Rouch, a spokesperson for Lee Enterprises, tells Axios.
Catch up quick: Lee Enterprises reported " a systems outage caused by a cybersecurity attack" on February 3, per the SEC filing.
By February 12, Lee's "core products" were back to normal, but weekly and "ancillary products" are still affected.
There's "no conclusive evidence" that local subscribers' personal information was accessed, per the Richmond story from Pyle.
Lee is still assessing the full extent of the attack, but noted in its SEC filling that it expects the company to be financially impacted.
