The Washington Post has confirmed that it was among more than 100 organizations affected by a large-scale hacking campaign exploiting vulnerabilities in Oracle’s E-Business Suite, a software platform widely used for corporate operations and human resources management.
According to Reuters, the newspaper said it was impacted “by the breach of the Oracle E-Business Suite platform.” The incident is part of a broader attack campaign first linked to the Clop ransomware group, which security researchers say has been stealing corporate and employee data since late September.
When contacted by TechCrunch, a Post spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Oracle spokesperson Michael Egbert declined to answer specific questions and instead referred reporters to two previously issued company advisories addressing the vulnerabilities.
Last month, Google’s threat analysis team reported that Clop was targeting organizations using Oracle’s software suite, exploiting multiple flaws to access business data and employee records. Google said the hackers had exfiltrated sensitive information from more than 100 companies, including confidential HR files and internal documents.
The extortion campaign reportedly began when executives at affected companies received ransom demands from email addresses tied to Clop. One corporate executive was allegedly asked to pay $50 million, according to anti-ransomware firm Halcyon.
On Thursday, the Clop gang claimed responsibility for hacking The Washington Post, posting a message on its leak site that accused the publication of having “ignored their security.” The phrasing is consistent with Clop’s usual practice of naming victims that have refused to negotiate or pay ransom demands.
Ransomware and extortion groups often publish stolen files or reveal the identities of their targets as leverage during failed negotiations. Several other organizations have also confirmed their involvement in the same Oracle-related breach, including Harvard University and Envoy, a subsidiary of American Airlines.
The attack underscores ongoing risks associated with enterprise software vulnerabilities, particularly in systems that store large volumes of employee and operational data. Oracle has issued security updates to address the exploited flaws, urging affected companies to apply patches immediately.
Featured image credits: Pixahive
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