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Fast Company website back online after cyberattack

A purported hacker claimed responsibility for vandalizing a news article on the Fast Company website.
A purported hacker claimed responsibility for vandalizing a news article on the Fast Company website. (Image captured by The Desk)

The website of business publication Fast Company was restored on Wednesday, more than a week after a cyber intrusion forced the media company to pull the website from the Internet.

In a note, Fast Company’s Editor-in-Chief Brendan Vaughan said it took eight days to ensure that the business publication’s website was no longer compromised after someone broke into the website’s content management system, vandalized a handful of articles and sent profane-laced push alerts to Apple News users.



Vaughan said the website was shut down as a precaution, and that an internal investigation showed no customer or advertiser information was compromised. The editor said the company feels confident that their websites and associated services are safeguarded against future attacks.

Someone claiming to be one of the purported attackers said in a statement that Fast Company’s security involving its servers and WordPress website was subpar.



“This went from some random bulls–t we found while f–king around, to what will hopefully be a laughing stock for security experts across the world,” the attacker said last week.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is a nationally-recognized, award-winning journalist who has covered the business of media, technology, radio and television for more than 11 years. He is the publisher of The Desk and contributes to Know Techie, Digital Content Next and StreamTV Insider. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, the Walt Disney Company, McNaughton Newspapers and Tribune Broadcasting. Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn by clicking or tapping here.
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