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Philadelphia (AFP) – The Philadelphia Inquirer has suffered the biggest disruption to its operations in 27 years due to what the paper calls a cyberattack.
The company was working to restore printing operations after a cyber incursion prevented the print edition of the newspaper from being printed on Sunday, the Enquirer reported on its website.
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The Inquirer reported that the news operation’s website was still up and running on Sunday, though updates were slower than usual.
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“We are currently unable to provide an exact time line” for the full restoration of the paper systems, Inquirer publisher Lisa Hughes said Sunday.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we work to fully restore systems and complete this investigation as quickly as possible,” Hughes said in an email in response to questions from the newspaper’s newsroom.
The attack was first discovered when staff on Saturday morning found the newspaper’s content management system was not working.
Hughes said The Enquirer “detected anomalous activity on select computer systems and immediately took those systems offline.”
The Inquirer reported that the cyberattack caused the largest disruption to the publication of Pennsylvania’s largest news organization since the January 1996 Blizzard.
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The cyberattack precedes the mayoral primaries scheduled for Tuesday. Hughes said the operational disruption will not affect news coverage of the election, though reporters will not be able to use the newsroom on election night.
Hughes said other Enquirer employees will not be allowed to use the offices until at least Tuesday, and the company was considering co-working arrangements for Tuesday, the Enquirer reported.
An investigation is under way into the extent of the attack and its specific targets, Hughes said, and the company has contacted the FBI.
The newspaper reported that the FBI in Philadelphia declined to comment in response to questions from Enquirer reporters.
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