Nine Entertainment Faces Disruption from Cyber Attack
Nine Entertainment’s broadcast and corporate business units were disrupted by a “cyber attack” early on Sunday morning, with the effects still being felt.
The company, which operates free-to-air stations such as Channel 9, confirmed the attack on Sunday evening, after earlier refusing to confirm or deny it had been hit.
The attack has taken down computer systems at Nine Sydney, which is located in North Sydney.
The company said it had been able to put “several contingencies in place to ensure the NRL and our 6 pm bulletins will proceed.”
Reuters reported that the company was trying to get its 6 pm news bulletin done in Melbourne using a server that had not been compromised.
Earlier live broadcasts from Sydney were cancelled through the morning and replaced with either pre-recorded or interstate content.
The Sydney Morning Herald, which is owned by Nine, reported the infection as “some kind of ransomware” attack, albeit using a malware strain and/or method not previously seen in Australia.
We have not yet seen a group claim responsibility nor post a ransom demand. We also understand the company has not received a ransom demand.
Investigators from the Australian Cyber Security Centre have been called in to investigate further and assist with the company's recovery efforts.
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