Cyberattack On News Corp, Believed Linked to China

News Corp was the target of a hack that accessed emails and documents of some employees, including journalists, an incursion the company’s cybersecurity consultant said was likely meant to gather intelligence to benefit China’s interests.

The Wall Street Journal reports 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 an email the company sent to staff Friday.

News Corp said it notified law enforcement and hired cybersecurity firm Mandiant Inc. to support an investigation.

“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,” said David Wong, vice president of incident response at Mandiant.

News Corp said in the memo to staff it believes the threat activity is contained. The company has been offering guidance to affected employees.

The company’s investigation indicates that systems housing financial and customer data, including subscriber information, weren’t affected, according to the securities filing and a person familiar with the matter.

Law-enforcement officials and cybersecurity experts say that journalists are often high-priority targets for hackers seeking to gain intelligence on behalf of foreign governments, because they speak to sources who might have valuable or sensitive information. Powerful surveillance tools have been used against journalists and human-rights activists.