Numerous online news portals of the Rheinische Post Mediengruppe have been affected by a cyber attack, resulting in limited access to these websites. The attack occurred on Friday evening, affecting websites such as rp-online.de, Saarbrücker Zeitung, Aachener Zeitung and Aachener Nachrichten, Generalanzeiger Bonn, Trierische Volksfreund, and Wuppertal review. The attack was targeted at Circ IT, the in-house IT service provider, which caused technical problems on the affected sites.
At present, the websites of the affected media outlets display a message regarding the disruption. However, some websites still offer access to e-paper editions of the newspapers, and efforts are being made to provide a reduced news overview on certain subpages. Insider information suggests that the attackers targeted Circ IT, resulting in the paralysis of Rheinische Post websites and other news portals through a supply chain attack. The company is currently working to resolve the issues and has reported no further damage or unauthorized access to user data. External experts in IT security have been enlisted to ensure secure operations can resume.
