Has Macmillan Fallen Victim to a Ransomware Attack?

Macmillan seems to be under a ransomware attack.

Macmillan is a world-renowned publishing house that operates in multiple countries around the world.

Macmillan, a publishing company, has reported that it has been the victim of something it refers to as a digital security incident, and experts believe that it may be ransomware.

A few editors of the company went to Twitter to inform their agents and writers about the security incident that the company is dealing with.

Macmillan Publishers Security Incident

Although the company has not yet commented on the nature of the attack, many industry professionals believe that ransomware was the root cause of the outage that lasted for multiple days.

The publishing giant Macmillan was forced to shut down their network and their offices. The employees are unable to access their emails or files while the incident is ongoing.

It was reported that the attack took place over the weekend, June 25, and the company responded by turning off all of their systems in an effort to stop the attack from spreading.

The publisher stated that some of the company's files had become encrypted and that it had taken all of its systems offline to prevent any further breaches.

According to PublisherWeekly, Macmillan Publishers US has confirmed once more that the company will be closing all of its virtual and physical offices on June 28.

This announcement was made due to a security incident that involves the encryption of certain files on the company's network.

Macmillan Editors on Twitter

As reported by BleepingComputer, surprisingly, the editors at Macmillan have displayed an exceptional degree of transparency regarding the security breach.

The employees of the company have taken to social media to confirm that the incident has been extremely disruptive for the company's operations in the U.S., which has resulted in the closure of the company's head office in New York.

They have informed Macmillan's representatives and customers that they are not being ignored, but that they have lost access to their systems, emails, and files.

Both Macmillan Editors Sarah Cantin and Grace Kendall went to Twitter to reach a broader audience to announce the recent halt in their workflow.

Kendall, published a tweet on June 28 with a screenshot of her inbox which is shown to be from the publishing company stating they will be closed out of abundance for caution.

The email also reads that the company is doing investigation to secure the threat and is currently working with third party services to return to a secure working environment.

Cantin stated, "FYI for anyone trying to reach us at Macmillan, we are still closed today (Tuesday) and are unable to access email, files, systems, etc. If you're a colleague or one of my authors and urgently need me, please be in touch via DM!"

Macmillan's Halted Operation

The email sent out by the corporate office of Macmillan did not provide details on the impact of the shutdown.

All that was mentioned was that customers, employees, and other third-party partners may notice that certain systems are unavailable while the company works to restore its network.

However, in an email sent to Macmillan's customers, the company's field sales team explained that the company is currently unable to place, process, receive, or ship orders, despite the fact that the publisher is making progress in returning its systems.