Ouest-France
, the leading French daily by its distribution, will publish only one edition of its Sunday newspaper, against ten usually, after being the victim of a "
rather formidable
"
computer virus
in the night from Friday to Saturday, a- we learned from management.
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The virus hit the computer system of the regional daily based in Rennes, Saturday shortly after 3.30 a.m., when the last paper edition had just been printed.
"
This harmful virus has not impacted Saturday's newspaper or our website,
" François-Xavier Lefranc, editor-in-chief of
Ouest-France
, told AFP
.
However, the group has had to shut down its computer servers and must ensure that they have been disinfected before restarting them.
“
To guarantee the publication of the newspaper, we have limited the number of editions.
The newspaper will be distributed everywhere but in a single edition,
”explained François-Xavier Lefranc.
The Sunday newspaper, dubbed
Dimanche Ouest-France
(DOF), which sold nearly 400,000 copies last Sunday, will only be published in one edition this week.
Usually, a departmental edition is distributed in each Breton department and in the Pays de la Loire as well as a regional edition for Normandy.
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François-Xavier Lefranc described a "
powerful virus, quite formidable and which spreads very quickly
" but did not give details on its origin.
“
The diagnosis is underway,
” he said, adding that there was “
no question of ransom
”.
"
We hope to be able to go out normally on Monday,
" added the editor.
The Paris-Normandy daily was the victim of a cyberattack on Wednesday which prevented it from updating its website and disrupted its paper editions on Thursday.
Two journalists from the daily who requested anonymity said there had been a demand for ransom.
"Ransomware" allows cybercriminals to encrypt their companies' files, effectively crippling all or part of their business.
The hackers then demand a ransom to decrypt the files.
More and more companies are falling victim to this scourge, but rarely the media.
In France, M6 has already been affected by a "ransomware" attack which severely disrupted its activities for a few days in mid-October 2019.
