Cyberattack on media holding company

New York-based multinational media holding company News Corp, which includes a number of major British and American newspapers, said it had suffered a cyberattack that came to light on 20 January. The Wall Street Journal's website reported this on Friday, citing sources.

According to the newspaper, the incident affected emails of some employees and journalists of the holding company. Cybersecurity company Mandiant is reportedly investigating and believes that "those behind the activity are linked to China and likely involved in intelligence-gathering spying activities on behalf of China".

According to the source, the hacking attack affected a number of publications and business units of the holding company, including The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones and Company, the New York Post newspaper and the News Corp headquarters.

The source also claimed that the hack did not affect financial or customer data, including subscriber information.

News Corp believes the active threat has been thwarted. The method of hacking and the number of employees whose email accounts and documents were accessed by the hackers could not be ascertained.

The News Corp. holding company, founded by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, includes British newspapers The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times, the US publications The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, business news agency Dow Jones Company and HarperCollins, one of the world's largest publishers.