The Guardian is still suffering from the effects of a suspected ransomware attack that hit the publisher’s global IT systems on December 20.
Guardian Media Group CEO Anna Bateson asked employees to continue working from home in an email sent nearly two weeks after the attack to reduce demands on the organization’s networks as it continues to restore affected systems.
The CEO stated that all offices will be closed until at least January 23 in order to “reduce the strain” on the company’s networks while the problem is resolved. Staff in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia will continue to work from home until at least January 23.
On December 21, the Guardian announced a “serious IT incident” on its systems, claiming that the attack affected parts of the company’s technology infrastructure. It instructed employees to work from home at the time. It went on to say that the Guardian would continue to publish globally, despite the fact that the attack had likely taken out internal WiFi systems. The paper has a circulation of over 100,000 and a website.
The Guardian has also notified the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about the breach, for which no one has claimed responsibility.
The sources for this piece include an article in TheRegister.