Lee Enterprises Cyberattack Investigation
Lee Enterprises, the local news provider that publishes 77 daily newspapers as well as 350 weekly and specialty publications across 26 states, has been allegedly targeted in a cyberattack that may have impacted a large amount of data stored on the company’s servers. An investigation is underway, and more details will emerge in the coming weeks. Contact our data breach lawyers to learn more about protecting your personal data following any data security incident.
What Happened at Lee Enterprises?
In an official filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lee Enterprises said that a February 3 cyberattack resulted in an outage that impacted business operations. The company is now in the stage of investigating the incident and trying to determine what data may have been accessed and/or leaked.
The company’s statement says the following: “On February 3, 2025, the Company experienced a technology outage due to a cyber incident affecting certain business applications, resulting in an operational disruption…We are working to complete this investigation as quickly and thoroughly as possible, but these types of investigations are complex and time-consuming, with many taking several weeks or longer to complete.”
Lee Enterprises newsrooms have reported that the cyberattack disrupted the printing and delivery of dozens of local newspapers, as well as subscription services. Many working within the newspaper group apparently were impacted, and some reporters and editors were unable to access some files. In the days after the attack, several Lee Enterprises publications displayed banners at the top of their websites that read, “We are currently undergoing maintenance on some services, which may temporarily affect access to subscription accounts and the E-edition. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve the issues.”
Lee newspapers have a circulation of over 1.2 million, and digital editions attract more than 44 million daily visitors. The Lee newspaper portfolio includes the Buffalo News in New York, the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia, the Arizona Daily Star, the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska, the Press of Atlantic City, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Missouri, the Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming, and others.
The company has thus far been unable to share additional information on the incident, and at the moment no known ransomware group has taken credit for the attack. Lee Enterprises is working with third-party cybersecurity specialists to restore its systems and determine the full scope of the possible breach. As of writing, the company has not provided any details regarding what precisely led to the incident.
Our data privacy attorneys have filed numerous class action data breach lawsuits on behalf of plaintiffs in all fifty states. We believe any corporation that collects and stores your personal information has a duty to properly protect it with secure networks and IT security. Any negligent company can be held accountable if data is stolen and misused.