Sinclair Broadcast Group, the second-largest TV station operator in the US, said a ransomware attack has locked up some servers, workstations and networks. The company detected the issue on Saturday and it has been trying to restore operations. It said the incident still was affecting systems as of Monday morning. For one thing, the attack has disrupted ads on local broadcast stations. Sinclair hasn’t yet determined the impact on its business.
In addition, the company confirmed the attacker(s) stole data from its network. It’s unclear as yet exactly what the data included. An investigation into the incident is underway after Sinclair brought in a cybersecurity forensic firm and an incident response team. It informed law enforcement and relevant government agencies about the matter.
The Biden administration has made fighting ransomware and bolstering cybersecurity a priority, and it planned to bring together representatives of 30 countries this month to discuss the threat. Earlier this year, a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline disrupted fuel supplies across the US for several days. Other prominent companies and organizations that have fallen victim to ransomware this year include meat supplier JBS, Bose, Acer and health services in Ireland and the US.
