Nine Entertainment’s cyber attack woes continue to disrupt the media giant

Media giant Nine Entertainment is still battling the fallout from a sophisticated cyber attack that continues to hamper the company’s ability to produce content.

On Sunday March 28, the media company was forced off air in Sydney after a malicious cyber attack impacted many TV productions. Picture: William West

Nine Entertainment has conceded it is still battling technical problems more than one week after the company suffered a sophisticated cyber attack.

In a note to all staff on Monday afternoon, Nine confirmed there remained a long road ahead until its television and print arms could resume as normal.

Many employees have been ordered to continue working remotely where possible until the company’s technology teams are able to get their main systems completely back online.

“There is still a lot of work to do before our networks are fully restored; however, you should expect to see a gradual restoration of business operations and reduced reliance on alternative workarounds over the coming days and weeks,” the memo from Nine’s communications department said to staff.

“While we are in the process of restoring network services in Nine’s offices, depending on your location and role, you may find it more effective to continue working remotely this week.”

They have advised staff they are undergoing a process to gradually return those who are working from home back to the workplace.

On Sunday March 28, the media company was forced off air in Sydney after a malicious cyber attack impacted many TV productions, including Weekend Today and news and current affairs programs.

Weekend Today was unable to air, leaving the show’s hosts including Rebecca Maddern and Richard Wilkins taking to social media Twitter to question what was going on.

Production staff and some on-air talent based in Sydney were forced to fly to Melbourne and produce content from the company’s Victorian headquarters at the Docklands.

The cyber attack also derailed the ability to publish major metropolitan newspapers, including The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Last Tuesday, the three major newspapers were forced to publish 24-page editions as opposed to the usual 36-page editions.

A cyber attack of this scale on a media company in Australia is unprecedented and the ransomware attack could end up costing the company more than $1m depending on how long the outage lasts, cybersecurity experts said.

The Australian Federal Police and NSW police were also asked to assist with investigations into the attack that targeted Nine’s corporate network.

The note to staff on Monday confirmed the company’s technology teams had made “remarkable progress over the past few days across a number of key operational systems”.

“These are significant milestones and have put us in a position where we can advise on a process to return to the workplace,” the note said.  

It also said IT experts were still working through the issues and managing “business priorities and associated impacts”.

The attack came a day before Nine’s incoming chief executive Mike Sneesby took over his role.