The Related Press is warning of an information breach impacting AP Stylebook clients the place the attackers used the stolen knowledge to conduct focused phishing assaults.
The AP Stylebook is a generally used information on grammar, punctuation, and writing model for journalists, magazines, and newsrooms worldwide.
This week, the Related press warns that an previous third-party-managed AP Stylebook web site that was now not in use was hacked between July 16 and July 22, 2023, permitting the information for 224 clients to be stolen.
The stolen data features a buyer’s title, electronic mail handle, avenue handle, metropolis, state, zip code, cellphone quantity, and Person ID. For patrons who entered tax-exempt IDs, reminiscent of a Social Safety Quantity or Employer Identification Quantity, these IDs had been stolen as properly.
The AP says they first discovered of the potential knowledge breach on July 20, 2023, after AP Stylebook clients reported receiving phishing emails stating they wanted to replace their bank card data.
After studying of the phishing assault, the AP took the previous web site and phishing offline to forestall additional assaults.
On the finish of July, the corporate started alerting AP Stylebook clients of the phishing assaults, warning that the emails got here from ‘assist@getscore.my[.]id’ with a topic much like “Concerning AP Stylebook Order no. 07/20/2023 06:48:20 am.”
The Related Press additionally requires all AP Stylebook clients to reset their passwords on the subsequent login.
Whereas this was not a major knowledge breach, with solely 224 clients impacted, the login credentials for journalists and media firms are extremely wanted by cybercriminals.
Having access to the community of a media firm might result in all kinds of assaults, together with extortion and ransomware assaults, knowledge theft, and cyber espionage.
Prior to now, native and world media shops suffered ransomware and cyberespionage assaults, together with Information Corp, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and German newspaper Heilbronn Stimme.
BleepingComputer contacted the Related Press to study extra concerning the phishing assault and can replace this text if we study extra.
