Sinclair appears to be the latest victim of a ransomware attack, with its channels going down over the weekend.

Ransomware has been a growing issue for organizations around the world and across industries. Sinclair is the latest high-profile victim, and disclosed the attack in a filing with the SEC.

On October 16, 2021, the Company identified and began to investigate and take steps to contain a potential security incident. On October 17, 2021, the Company identified that certain servers and workstations in its environment were encrypted with ransomware, and that certain office and operational networks were disrupted. Data also was taken from the Company’s network. The Company is working to determine what information the data contained and will take other actions as appropriate based on its review.

The attack disrupted broadcasting on Sinclair-owned channels, and may continue to do so for a time.

While the Company is focused on actively managing this security event, the event has caused – and may continue to cause – disruption to parts of the Company’s business, including certain aspects of its provision of local advertisements by its local broadcast stations on behalf of its customers. The Company is working diligently to restore operations quickly and securely.