Lee Enterprises, the parent company of the Bloomington Pantagraph and other newspapers across the country, fell victim to a cybersecurity outage last week. The company has now revealed the cause, with few details, of the outage.
Alongside the Pantagraph, 70 other daily newspapers were affected by the outage. Both print and online e-edition distribution have been halted since Feb. 3.
The incident is currently under investigation by law enforcement.
Lee Enterprises has updated media with a written statement about current developments.
“Unfortunately, our investigation has determined that the situation was the result of a cybersecurity event,” the statement read. “We are now focused on determining what information — if any — may have been affected by the situation.”
The issue had initially been cited as a production issue or a server outage. A spokesperson contacted by WGLT declined to provide additional information about the outage, citing the ongoing investigation.
At publication time, executive editor Allison Petty had not responded to a request for comment. In an article published on the Pantagraph's website, Petty wrote she was thankful for the concern shown by subscribers of The Pantagraph.
“We heard from many of you this week with understandable questions and concerns when your Pantagraph didn’t show up by email or in the driveway,” the article said. “Most people have responded with understanding and kindness, and I am glad to know that so many of you value The Pantagraph as a part of your morning routine.”
According to the statement released by Lee Enterprises, their newsrooms will continue to release updates about the situation as it unfolds.
