Dutch broadcaster RTV Noord hacked: Rhysida ransomware suspected after media attacks
RTV Noord, a regional broadcaster in the Netherlands, has been hacked. The police have not yet been called in, as the news outlet is trying to get all systems up and running.
“RTV Noord has been hacked. This has major consequences for broadcasts and publications on all our platforms. We are working hard to find a solution. It is still unclear how long this will take,” the news station says in a brief statement.
The IT department discovered the hack on Thursday morning, when workers noticed they were unable to log in to the broadcaster’s systems.
Other employees were also at a loss.
It was hard to publish news articles in the app and on the website, but thanks to additional steps, news editors managed to do their work. Radio shows continued as usual, thanks to LPs and CDs, but all music had to be started manually. TV shows and live streams appeared on television and the broadcaster’s social accounts thanks to the extra effort of staff members.
The attackers left a message on the broadcaster’s server, but RTV Noord refuses to share any details regarding its content. At this point, it remains unclear whether any data has been stolen or how long it will take to be fully operational again.
Final editor Cunera van Selm states that the police haven’t been notified of the incident. “First, we will try to resume operations as usual, then we will investigate how this could have happened and who is responsible,” she says.
A similar incident happened with a popular Spanish radio station. Members of the Russia-linked ransomware operation Rhysida have claimed they stole “exclusive, unique, and impressive data” of KISS-FM.
“Open your wallets and be ready to buy exclusive data. We sell only to one hand, no reselling, you will be the only owner!” the attackers proclaimed on their leak site. They’re demanding three bitcoins in ransom, which is currently valued at approximately €265,000.
The radio station has seven days to come up with the money, or the attackers threaten to sell the stolen data.
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