Sinclair Broadcast Group stations around Texas and the nation are doing what they can to get news to viewers after the company was hit by a ransomware attack on its network.
FTV Live first reported about it this weekend and now it is national news. I almost hesitated to post anything since there is so much news out there, but it is important to note that Sinclair, one of the largest owners of television stations, has a large Texas presence.
Here are some of the Sinclair's Texas stations:
WOAI - San Antonio
KABB - San Antonio
KEYE Austin
KFDM Beaumont - Port Arthur
KBTV Beaumont - Port Arthur
KDBC - El Paso
KFOX - El Paso
KTXS - Abilene-Sweetwater
KVII Amarillo
While I couldn't find any mentions of the cyberattack on the Texas station's websites or YouTube accounts, KFDM Beaumont's 10pm started off announcing the newscast would look different without music and certain graphics due to the cyber issues.
Here is a tweet from out of state by a Sinclair employee:
Our computer systems are down which means I get to bust out my white boards!!!
— Meteorologist Katie Nickolaou (@weather_katie) October 18, 2021
I love going old school! pic.twitter.com/F4vcDwQThl
More from the company's press release:
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. today provided information on a recent cybersecurity incident.
On October 16, 2021, the Company identified and began to investigate and take steps to contain a potential security incident. On October 17, 2021, the Company identified that certain servers and workstations in its environment were encrypted with ransomware, and that certain office and operational networks were disrupted. Data also was taken from the Company’s network. The Company is working to determine what information the data contained and will take other actions as appropriate based on its review.
Promptly upon detection of the security event, senior management was notified, and the Company implemented its incident response plan, took measures to contain the incident, and launched an investigation. Legal counsel, a cybersecurity forensic firm, and other incident response professionals were engaged. The Company also notified law enforcement and other governmental agencies. The forensic investigation remains ongoing.
While the Company is focused on actively managing this security event, the event has caused – and may continue to cause – disruption to parts of the Company’s business, including certain aspects of its provision of local advertisements by its local broadcast stations on behalf of its customers. The Company is working diligently to restore operations quickly and securely.
As the Company is in the early stages of its investigation and assessment of the security event, the Company cannot determine at this time whether or not such event will have a material impact on its business, operations or financial results.
As the Company conducts its investigation, it will look for opportunities to enhance its existing security measures.
