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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Entercom’s Ransomware Attack: What We Know As Of Now<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><a href="https://radioinsight.com/author/lance/" title="Browse Author Articles"><span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="26" height="26" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.png@01D567CF.29F87E60" alt="https://radioinsight.com/wp-content/images/avatars/2/58b30227587f1-bpthumb.png"></span>By
<b>Lance Venta</b> </a>On <b>Sep 10, 2019</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img border="0" width="200" height="200" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.png@01D567CF.29F87E60" alt="Entercom CBS Radio David Field"></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The
most talked about topic of the past 48 hours has been something that nobody is allowed to talk about.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Over the weekend Entercom’s internal networks were hit with a ransomware attack making it the third national
radio group to be hit this year following <a href="https://radioinsight.com/headlines/175822/townsquare-media-stations-taken-down-by-ransomware-attack/">
Townsquare Media</a> and Radio One along with many other smaller operators including
<a href="https://www.tampabay.com/breaking-news/radio-station-wmnf-victim-of-ransomware-cyberattack-20190717/">
WMNF Tampa</a>, <a href="https://thesouthern.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/river-radio-of-southern-illinois-hacked-files-rendered-useless/article_55a48832-04a1-5eb3-a86d-cb5c41c1ab77.html">
Max Media Marion/Carbondale IL</a> and others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">While nobody at the company will go on the record, we have verified from multiple sources that the Entercom
systems were compromised through what is believed to be from an affected music scheduling program which spread through their shared internal systems to bring down other services including shared network drives, production, billing, traffic as well as all e-mail
accounts. Thankfully playout systems were locked down allowing stations to continue broadcasting. Many stations are currently doing music logs by hand and are utilizing previously uploaded traffic logs or no commercials are running.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">While Entercom is not paying the supposed $500,000 ransom, the costs to fix the attack will go well beyond that.
In its first quarter earnings report, Radio One indicated that it cost that amount for them to repair issues connected to their attack in addition to $500,000 to $800,000 in lost advertising revenue. KQED San Francisco detailed their recovery from an attack
in 2017 that cost them $475,000 for new network protections.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This is not an issue just for radio stations. In recent weeks high profile attacks have been made on
<a href="https://hotforsecurity.bitdefender.com/blog/ransomware-gang-demands-5-3-million-from-new-bedford-city-restores-from-backup-instead-21494.html">
municipal governments</a>, <a href="https://www.iowapublicradio.org/post/ransomware-cyberattacks-knock-baltimores-city-services-offline#stream/0">
city services</a>, and <a href="https://www.rrstar.com/news/20190909/rockford-public-schools-phones-internet-disabled-by-ransomware">
school districts</a>. If your station hasn’t been fully safeguarded, it needs to become an urgent priority immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D">John Antonuk<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Broadcast Transmission Engineer - CPBE | Fairbanks<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">KFBX-AM | KIAK-FM | KAKQ-FM | KKED-FM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:red">iHeartMedia<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">546 9<sup>th</sup> Ave<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Fairbanks, AK 99701</span><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:red"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">o 907.450.1050 | c 907.460.4288<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><a href="mailto:JohnAntonuk@iHeartmedia.com">JohnAntonuk@iHeartmedia.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#1F497D">America’s #1 Audio Company<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#1F497D">Reaching 9 out of 10 Americans Every Month<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Radio|Digital|Social|Podcasts|Influencers|Data|Events<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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