Montana Newspaper Employees Warned to Freeze “Personal Credit” After Cyberattack on Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises, the parent company of multiple newspapers across Montana, including The Missoulian and Helena Independent Record, is facing an escalating crisis following a ransomware attack that disrupted operations across its publications. The attack, carried out by the Qilin ransomware group, allegedly compromised 350 GB of sensitive data, with the hackers threatening to release the stolen information if their demands were not met.

In a troubling new development, Helena Independent Record sports reporter Daniel Shepard posted yesterday on X (formerly Twitter) that some Lee Enterprises employees have been advised to freeze their personal credit “for now” in light of “recent news.” This suggests that the data breach may extend beyond internal business operations and into the personal information of employees, raising concerns about identity theft.

If employee financial data has been compromised, the next question is whether subscriber data—including names, addresses, and payment information—is also at risk. Lee Enterprises has yet to issue a public statement addressing the potential exposure of customer information.

Lee Enterprises Newspapers in Montana

For readers who subscribe to Lee Enterprises publications, here are the major newspapers the company owns in Montana:

• The Missoulian (Missoula)
• Helena Independent Record (Helena)
• Billings Gazette (Billings)
• The Montana Standard (Butte)
• Ravalli Republic (Hamilton)

What Should Lee Enterprises Employees and Subscribers Do?

For employees:

• Consider placing a credit freeze with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened in your name.
• Monitor bank statements and credit reports for unusual activity.
• Be wary of phishing attempts posing as official communications from Lee Enterprises.

For subscribers:

• If you have an active subscription with a Lee Enterprises publication, watch for unauthorized charges on your payment methods.
• Change your account passwords as a precaution.
• Consider contacting Lee Enterprises customer support for clarification on data security measures.

Have you been affected by this breach? Share your experience with us at [email protected].