WASHINGTON — News Corp, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, said Friday that it had been hacked and had data stolen from journalists and other employees, and a cybersecurity firm investigating the intrusion said Chinese intelligence-gathering was believed behind the operation.
The Journal, citing people briefed on the intrusion, reported that it appeared to date back to February 2020 and that scores of employees were affected. It quoted them as saying the hackers were able to access reporters’ e-mails and Google Docs, including drafts of articles.
News Corp., whose publications and businesses include the New York Post and Journal parent Dow Jones, said it discovered the breach on Jan. 20. It said customer and financial data were so far not affected and company operations were not interrupted.
But the potential impact on news reporting and sources was a serious concern. News organizations are prime targets for the world’s intelligence agencies because their reporters are in constant contact with sources of sensitive information. Journalists and newsrooms from Mexico and El Salvador to Qatar, where Al-Jazeera is based, have been hacked with powerful spyware.
The timing of News Corp.’s announcement, including in a regulatory filing Friday, coincided with the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, to which foreign athletes and journalists were advised to bring “burner” phones and sanitized laptops to protect against cyberespionage.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
