Ampersand targeted by Black Basta ransomware attack

Operations at major TV advertising sales and technology firm Ampersand have been temporarily impacted by a ransomware attack claimed by the Black Basta ransomware operation, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Most business operations have since been restored but no further details regarding the intrusion have been provided by Ampersand, which is jointly owned by Comcast Corporation, Cox Communications, and Charter Communications. Moreover, Black Basta has also not provided any information regarding the data exfiltrated from Ampersand. Such an intrusion comes after the ransomware gang compromised the Raleigh Housing Authority, the American Dental Association, Swiss industrial automation firm ABB, German automotive and arms producer Rheinmetall, and UK outsourcing firm Capita over the past few months. Numerous cyberattacks have also impacted the operators of Ampersand, with Charter being affected by a third-party breach in January that exposed 550,000 customers' data, Comcast having its customers' accounts hacked last December, and Cox having been targeted by Iran-based ransomware attackers in 2021.