SPH Media hit by cyberattacks; no payment card details or financial information compromised

SINGAPORE - SPH Media said on Nov 10 that it was hit by cyberattacks that affected nine per cent of its database.

The exposed information was predominantly e-mail addresses, as well as some names, mailing addresses and phone numbers. No payment card details, financial or banking information, or customer account was compromised.

In a statement on Nov 10, the media company said it had identified cyberattacks on five of its systems, which it believed are “a concerted effort that was carried out by the same threat actor”.

The first incident was detected on Nov 4, and the most recent incident on Nov 8.

SPH Media said it suspects the intrusions could be artificial intelligence-enabled attacks, based on preliminary investigations.

The breaches arose from a combination of factors, including software bugs and system configuration, said its spokesman.

Upon discovering the incidents, SPH Media said it immediately took steps to secure the affected systems and engaged external cybersecurity experts to investigate and contain the breaches.

The organisation also reported the incident to the Personal Data Protection Commission, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, and filed a police report.

“SPH Media takes the security and confidentiality of customers’ information very seriously, and has been working very closely with the relevant authorities and third-party specialists,” said the spokesman.

“We advise customers to remain vigilant and exercise caution for suspicious and unsolicited e-mails, messages and calls, particularly those requesting personal information, passwords or payments, and to avoid clicking on suspicious links or attachments.”

SPH Media said it has applied bug fixes to its IT systems, and updated the system configurations.

It has also updated its perimeter defences to block further probing and exploitation attempts by the attackers, and heightened its monitoring posture.

No corporate customers’ information was affected due to the cyberattacks, while some e-mail addresses belonging to its employees were compromised.

The affected employees have been informed to remain vigilant and to exercise caution, the company added.

“We remain committed to safeguarding our systems and the information entrusted to us,” said the spokesman.