Media giant News Corp has disclosed new details about a data breach discovered last year and attributed to a state-sponsored threat actor.
In early 2022, News Corp revealed that hackers had managed to steal corporate data from its systems, but claimed that financial and customer information were not compromised. The incident was discovered in January 2022 and cybersecurity firm Mandiant was called in to assist with the investigation.
News Corp said at the time that the attack had been tied to a foreign government, and Mandiant clarified that it appeared to be the work of a Chinese group.
The cyberattack hit News Corp headquarters, news operations in the UK, as well as News Corp-owned businesses such as The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, and New York Post.
The media giant last week started sending out data breach notices to individuals whose data may have been compromised. Bleeping Computer was the first to spot the notification.
The notification, a copy of which was submitted to authorities in Massachusetts, reveals that the hackers gained access to a business email and document storage system used by several News Corp businesses.
The attackers had gained access to business documents and emails between February 2020 and January 2022. The compromised information came from a ‘limited number’ of personnel accounts on the affected system.
Some personal information may have been obtained by the attackers, including name, date of birth, Social Security number, passport number, driver’s license number, financial account information, health insurance details, and medical information. The company noted that not every type of information was compromised in each individual’s case.
“Our investigation indicates that this activity does not appear to be focused on exploiting personal information. We are not aware of reports of identity theft or fraud in connection with this issue,” News Corp said.
However, the company has decided to offer 24 months of free identity protection and credit monitoring services to impacted individuals.
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Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
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