Guardian hit by serious IT incident believed to be ransomware attack

The Guardian has been hit by a serious IT incident, which is believed to be a ransomware attack.

There has also been some disruption to behind-the-scenes services.

Online publishing is largely unaffected, with stories continuing to be written and published to the Guardian website and app.

News organisations around the world have been regular targets for cyber-attacks both by criminals and nation states, although at this stage the company said it believed the incident was likely to be a ransomware attack. These involve hackers gaining access to a computer system then making demands to restore services.