Guardian Australia shares update on cyberattack

News website Guardian Australia has asked its staff to work remotely until mid-January as the company responds to a suspected ransomware attack against its parent company, Guardian Media Group, days before Christmas.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald’s (SMH) report, Guardian Australia asked its skeleton group of staff working through the holidays to work from home until January 9 as a precautionary measure as its parent company deals with the cyberattack’s aftermath.

On December 22, Guardian Media Group chief executive Anna Bateson and editor-in-chief Katherine Viner confirmed that the company will continue to publish stories despite the cyberattack while Guardian Australia’s offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra remain closed.

A Guardian Australia spokesperson added: “We believe this to be a ransomware attack, but are continuing to consider all possibilities. Our technology teams are working to deal with all aspects of this incident, with the vast majority of our staff able to work from home as we did during the pandemic. We will continue to keep our staff and anyone else affected informed.”

Guardian Media Group’s ransomware attack follows Australian energy company AGL’s cyber incident, where the attackers possibly stole credentials acquired externally to log into customer accounts.

In a report published in late 2022, Australia ranked eighth in the top 10 countries most affected by ransomware attacks in November. Meanwhile, a report by security giant Sophos warned Australian organisations to brace themselves for a more hostile cyber environment in 2023.