Washington Post investigating cyberattack on journalists’ email accounts, source says

The Washington Post Building in Washington, DC. Photographer: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (Andrew Harnik/Photographer: Andrew Harnik/Gett)

The Washington Post is investigating a cyberattack on email accounts of some of its journalists, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday.

There has been a possible unauthorized targeted intrusion affecting a few journalists, the source said. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the breach, said it was potentially the work of a foreign government.

According to the report, staffers at the Washington Post were told the intrusions compromised journalists’ Microsoft MSFT.O accounts and could have granted the intruder access to work emails.

The reporters whose emails were targeted included members of the national security and economic policy teams, including some who write about China, the report added.

Matt Murray, the Washington Post’s executive editor, said in an internal memo that the investigation was initiated after the breach was discovered on Thursday, the WSJ reported.

In 2022, News Corp NWSA.O, which publishes the WSJ, was breached by digital intruders. The email accounts and data of an unspecified number of journalists were compromised in that incident.

Reporting by Pretish M J in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao