SPH Media reports data breach affecting roughly 9% of its database
SPH Media disclosed a cyberattack that compromised about 9% of its database, though payment card and banking details were not involved.
SPH Media said on Tuesday that a cyberattack had breached approximately nine percent of its database, affecting five of its systems. The intrusion was first detected on Nov 4 when unauthorized access was found on two portals used by staff and vendors for subscriber orders, with additional attacks identified through Nov 8. Preliminary analysis suggests the attacks were enabled by artificial intelligence and carried out by the same threat actor, exploiting software bugs and system-configuration issues.
No payment card details, financial or banking information, or customer account access were compromised. The company has informed affected parties and advised them on precautionary steps. SPH Media declined to disclose the exact number of individuals impacted.
The firm has secured the affected systems, applied bug fixes and configuration updates, and engaged a cybersecurity firm specializing in digital forensics and incident response to investigate and contain the breach. It also reported the incident to the Personal Data Protection Commission, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, the Infocomm Media Development Authority, and filed a police report.
The spokesperson warned customers to stay vigilant, avoid responding to unsolicited requests for personal information, passwords or payments, and refrain from clicking suspicious links or attachments. The breach follows recent incidents at other Singaporean companies, including Singapore Airlines, M1, Doctor Anywhere and MoneySmart.