CH Media and NZZ hit by hacker attack

Due to a cyber attack, various services of the media companies NZZ and CH Media were unavailable on Friday. According to their own statements, the two companies were the target of a malicious software attack.

Among other things, the work in editorial offices was affected, including the production of radio programs, the Keystone-SDA news agency learned from editorial circles. The extent to which newspaper production was disrupted was initially unclear.

CH Media announced on Friday afternoon that it should be operational again soon. The problems had already started in the morning. The attack could have an impact on “market services and products,” CH Media wrote. A spokeswoman for the company said when asked by Keystone-SDA that specific information could not be given.

According to the information, CH Media uses various IT services from media group NZZ and was therefore directly affected by the cyber attack on NZZ’s infrastructure. The incident is clarified together with the NZZ.

The NZZ reported that the attack was recognized early and in isolation. The attack is being analyzed by NZZ’s IT department, external specialists and experts from the National Center for Cyber ​​Security (NCSC) and the Zurich Cantonal Police.

Attacks from Russia and North Korea

According to CH Media, it is a cyber attack by so-called ransomware. It allows hackers to penetrate a victim’s computer system and access or even block IT systems or data. They can also lock their victims out with encryption technology and demand a ransom.

Recent victims of ransomware attacks include the German University of Duisburg-Essen, the British Post Office and the Canadian children’s hospital Sick Kids. Many ransomware groups are believed to be based in Russia.

However, the Russian authorities deny that the country is a safe haven for these groups. Experts also assume that many ransomware attacks are launched from North Korea.

CH Media publishes “Aargauer Zeitung”, “Luzerner Zeitung” and “St. Galler Tagblatt» and owns several radio and TV stations such as 3Plus and Tele Züri. 65 percent of CH Media belongs to AZ Medien of publisher Peter Wanner and 35 percent to NZZ. The NZZ Group publishes, among other things, the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”. (sda)

(jam/sda)