Lee Enterprises Faces Prolonged Ransomware Attack Disrupting Newspaper Operations

Lee Enterprises, one of the largest newspaper publishers in the United States, is facing an ongoing ransomware attack that has severely disrupted its operations for over three weeks. The company confirmed the attack in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealing that hackers illegally accessed its network, encrypted critical applications, and exfiltrated certain files. 

The publishing giant is now conducting a forensic investigation to determine whether sensitive or personal data was stolen.

The attack has had widespread consequences across Lee’s business, affecting essential operations such as billing, collections, vendor payments, and the distribution of print newspapers. Many of its 72 publications have experienced significant delays, with some print editions not being published at all. 

The Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina reported that it was unable to print several editions, while the Albany Democrat-Herald and Corvallis Gazette-Times in Oregon faced similar disruptions, preventing the release of at least two editions.

Digital services have also been affected. On February 3, Lee Enterprises notified affected media outlets that one of its data centers, which supports applications and services for both the company and its customers, had gone offline. 

This outage has prevented subscribers from logging into their accounts and accessing key business applications

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