Washington Post faces cyberattack, email accounts of journalists leaked
What's the story
The Washington Post has confirmed a cyberattack targeting the email accounts of some of its journalists.
The breach was first detected last Thursday, prompting an immediate internal response.
All employees were required to change their passwords as part of the security measures.
Matt Murray, the executive editor at the publication, said in a memo that the attack seemed "targeted" and limited in scope.
Impact assessment
Incident only impacted some journalists
Murray further clarified that the incident only impacted a small number of Post journalists' accounts.
"We have reached out to those whose accounts were affected," he said in the memo.
The executive editor also emphasized that they don't think this unauthorized intrusion affected any other Post systems or had any impact on their customers.
Ongoing probe
Identity of hackers still unknown
The identity of the hackers is yet to be determined. A spokesperson for The Post declined to comment on who could be behind the attack.
However, such attacks are not uncommon for high-profile media organizations.
Journalists who cover sensitive topics like politics or national security are often targeted by state-sponsored actors or cybercriminals looking to extort organizations or sell access.
Suspected origin
Attack could be work of foreign government
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the breach, suggested that it could be the work of a foreign government.
The attack is said to have compromised journalists' Microsoft accounts, possibly offering the intruder access to work emails.
Those targeted included the members of national security and economic policy teams, some of whom cover China.