News Corp Gets Hit by Apparent Chinese Cyberattack

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News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal, was hit by an apparent Chinese cyberattack, reported the Journal on Friday, citing a securities filing.

According to the Journal:

The attack, discovered on Jan. 20, affected a number of publications and business units including The Wall Street Journal and its parent Dow Jones; the New York Post; the company’s U.K. news operation; and News Corp headquarters, according to a person familiar with the matter.

After discovering the attack, the company notified law enforcement and hired cybersecurity firm Mandiant Inc. to support an investigation, the person said.

…

News Corp believes the threat activity is contained and has been offering guidance to affected employees, the person said.

David Wong, vice president of incident response at Mandiant, told the Journal, “Mandiant assesses that those behind this activity have a China nexus, and we believe they are likely involved in espionage activities to collect intelligence to benefit China’s interests.”

News of the cyberattack comes at a time when China under the international spotlight. Beijing is hosting the Winter Olympics despite allegations of human rights violations, such as China’s genocide of Uyghur Muslims and clamping down on dissent nationwide especially in Hong Kong, and not answering questions about the coronavirus, which originated in the country.