Media Prima has been hit by a ransomware attack, resulting in employees being denied access to in-house emails. According to The Edge Financial Daily, computer systems throughout the group were “breached and infected” with ransomware over the past four days and the attackers demanded 1,000 bitcoins in order for Media Prima to reaccess the email system. According to media reports, the amount demanded was RM26 million.
Quoting its sources, The Edge said despite the attackers’ demands, Media Prima will not be paying the bitcoins. Its employees have also migrated to G Suite, a brand of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools developed by Google.
In a statement to A+M, a spokesperson from Media Prima said the group refrains from making public comments on matters related to security and internal systems. “The group wishes to state that at no time were our core business operations (e.g. broadcast, print, out-of-home advertising, content production and digital publishing) interrupted,” the spokesperson added.