Washington Post Confirms Data Breach Linked to Oracle E-Business Hacks

Key Takeaways

• Washington Post Breach Confirmed: The newspaper said it was affected by the breach involving Oracle’s E-Business Suite platform.
• Clop Exploited Oracle Vulnerabilities: The ransomware group targeted flaws that allowed theft of business data and employee records from more than 100 organizations.
• Extortion Demands Reported: One affected executive was reportedly asked to pay a $50 million ransom.
• Clop Publicly Named the Post: The gang listed The Washington Post on its site, a tactic commonly used when a victim does not pay.

Deep Dive

The Washington Post has confirmed that it was among the organizations affected in a broader hacking campaign exploiting vulnerabilities in Oracle’s E-Business Suite, a set of corporate software tools widely used to manage HR systems, business operations, and sensitive internal data.

Reuters first reported the breach on Friday, citing a statement from the newspaper acknowledging it was impacted “by the breach of the Oracle E-Business Suite platform.” The Post did not provide further details on what specific data may have been accessed or how many individuals may be affected.

The incident is part of a larger campaign tied to the ransomware and extortion group known as Clop. In October, Google warned that Clop had been exploiting multiple vulnerabilities in the Oracle E-Business Suite platform since late September, allowing the group to steal business records and employee data from more than 100 companies.

Executives at impacted organizations began receiving extortion emails from accounts previously linked to Clop, claiming large volumes of internal business information and personal employee data had been stolen. In at least one case, anti-ransomware firm Halcyon said hackers demanded $50 million to prevent the release of the stolen data.

On Thursday, the Clop gang posted on its website that it had breached The Washington Post, stating that the newspaper had “ignored their security”, phrasing Clop typically uses when a victim declines to pay. Extortion gangs routinely publish victim names or data in an effort to increase public pressure and force negotiations.

For now, the full scale of the Washington Post’s breach, including whether employee or subscriber data is involved, remains unclear. The newspaper has not issued additional public guidance.

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