Ransomware attack knocks Weather Channel off the Air

A ransomware attack knocked the Weather Channel off the air for at least 90 minutes Thursday morning, federal law enforcement are investigating the incident.A ranomware attack knocked the Weather Channel off the air for at least 90 minutes Thursday morning, federal law enforcement are investigating the incident.

A cyber attack hit the Weather Channel and forced it off the air for at least 90 minutes.

The broadcaster confirmed via Twitter that the incident is the result of a cyber attack, it claims that the problems were caused by “a malicious software attack on the network.”

Details are scant at the moment and a tweet from the station does not lift the haze, informing only that it was the victim of “a malicious software attack on the network.”

This morning the broadcaster transmitted a taped programming “Heavy Rescue” instead of the “AMHQ” live show.

The live show started more than 90 minutes later and the anchors informing viewers of the cyber attack. IT staff has restored the normal operations using the backups.

Federal law enforcement has immediately started an investigation on the case, at the time The Weather Channel did not disclose technical details about the attack.

According to 11 Alive News, the attack was caused by ransomware, a circumstance confirmed by Feds to The Wall Street Journal. The live show was interrupted due to a ransomware attack, likely an attempt to extort money to from the broadcaster.

Ransomware attacks continue to represent a serious threat for companies and organizations, it is essential to adopt good cyber hygiene using defence software, having up to date applications and implementing an efficient backup policy.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – ransomware, Wheater Channel)

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Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.