Close

Lee Enterprises cyberattack compromises information of nearly 40,000 people, including employees, subscribers and advertisers; Lee spent US$2M to recover from Feb. 3 attack, which impacted 72 news organizations

Jun 5, 2025 Tulsa World 2 min read

Exclusive Industry Insights

By submitting, you agree to our Privacy Policy

Share this article:

June 5, 2025 (Tulsa World) –

Lee Enterprises, the owner of the Tulsa World and other news organizations in 25 states, is now notifying individuals affected by a data breach caused by a cyberattack earlier this year.

An investigation found that personal information of close to 40,000 people was revealed in this breach. Those people include employees, subscribers and advertisers of news organizations owned by Lee Enterprises, including the Tulsa World.

Notification letters went out by mail Tuesday to anyone affected by the cyberattack, according to a company email from Astrid Garcia, chief legal off cer and vice president for human resources and legal for Lee Enterprises.

Lee is off ering anyone affected free identity theft protection services through the data breach and recovery company IDX.

Letters should appear within the next week. If you want to check to see if your information was involved before that, call IDX at 855-200-0677. If it was, you can enroll over the phone for the free identity theft protection services.

"We have taken significant steps to further enhance our security to help ensure that a similar situation does not occur again in the future," Tracy Rouch, director of communications for Lee Enterprises, said in a statement.

On Feb. 3 a cyberattack shut down most of the Lee Enterprises systems that affected the production of the Tulsa World's print edition. Through the ingenuity of our employees, we were able to continue to produce and deliver papers for our subscribers without disruption under tough circumstances in the aftermath of the cyberattack.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lee described the situation as a "cybersecurity attack," where "threat actors unlawfully accessed the company's network, encrypted critical applications, and exfiltrated certain files."

The Tulsa World was among 72 Lee news organizations affected by the attack, which impacted business applications and sparked operational disruptions.

We are still dealing with some issues but have regained access to almost all of the systems involved in the cyberattack.

Lee Enterprises announced in May that it spent $2 million to recover from the attack.

jason.collington@ tulsaworld.com

© Copyright (c) 2025 Tulsa World. World Publishing Co.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistribute or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.

Stay Ahead of Changes

Don't Wait. Stay Informed.

The world and your industry are changing too fast. You need to know what's happening, and our Legislation Monitor can help. It's a critical resource for anyone who wants to stay ahead of regulatory and legal challenges. Then, discover the other ways that Industry Intelligence Inc. can help your business.

Cookie Preferences

This website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze site performance, and deliver personalized content. We use a minimal cookie to remember your preferences. For detailed information about our cookie usage, please review our Privacy Policy.