Updated on 2022-10-19: Stimme Mediengruppe ransomware attack
German news agency Stimme Mediengruppe published an e-version of their newspapers this week after a ransomware attack last Friday crippled the company’s ability to print its daily newspaper. Read more: Cyberangriff auf die Heilbronner Stimme
Updated on 2022-10-17: Ransomware Disrupts German Newspaper Printing
A ransomware attack caused the shutdown of systems that are used to print several German newspapers. The attack disrupted the Stimme Mediengruppe, whose publications include Heilbronner Stimme, Pressedruck, Echo, and RegioMail.
Note
- When internet access first came about, most newspapers and periodicals used to have strong segmentation between their printing operations and their office/news production networks. However, shortcuts have often been taken to both reduce the time and cost of having online versions of the print offering as well as for remote work. If you are in that industry, good item to use to drive a review of your actual (in practice, not just on paper) IT/OT segmentation.
- The fallback plan here is leveraging on-line versions of the newspapers, dropping paywalls to allow readers access as well as printing emergency copies at alternate facilities. Both approaches have been problematic as the systems needed to create or host the content are similarly impacted. Kudos to the publisher for leveraging multiple mechanisms to deliver information to the customer; consider this scenario as you conduct your tabletop, maybe asking a few more what-if questions, extending your definition of what’s offline to augment your plan.
Read more in
- Cyber attack on the Heilbronn voice (German)
- Ransomware attack halts circulation of some German newspapers
Overview
A ransomware attack dismantled the printing systems of German newspaper Heilbronn Stimme, apart from crippling phone and email communication. Read more: Ransomware attack halts circulation of some German newspapers
