Hackers Target and Hijack Washington Post Journalists’ Email Accounts

A targeted cyberattack has struck The Washington Post, compromising the email accounts of several of its journalists and raising new concerns about the digital security of newsrooms worldwide.

The breach, discovered late last week, prompted an immediate and sweeping response from the newspaper’s leadership, including a reset of all employee login credentials and the launch of a forensic investigation into the incident.

Discovery and Response

The intrusion was detected on June 12, according to an internal memo from Executive Editor Matt Murray. The Washington Post had forced a password reset for all staff, a move designed to contain the breach and prevent further unauthorized access.

Murray assured employees that, so far, the attack appears to have impacted only a limited number of journalists’ Microsoft email accounts and has not affected other Post systems or customer data.

“We believe the incident affected a limited number ...