Satellite television provider Dish has suffered a multi-day outage after being hit by a cyberattack, according to reports from multiple sources. The disruption started early last Thursday, with customers unable to access their television services, pay their bills, or access customer support systems.
Four days later, Dish's website is still displaying a message informing customers that the company is experiencing a system issue that its teams are working hard to resolve:
While Dish, Sling TV, and other wireless services are reportedly back up and running, the company's corporate communications systems, customer care functions, and websites have been affected by the cyberattack.
Dish spokesperson Edward Wietecha confirmed to TechCrunch that the company is investigating the issue and working hard to restore affected systems.
The Verge was able to obtain some screenshots of internal Dish emails discussing the incident:
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The email also instructed employees not to use company-issued laptops if they've been connected to the company network or its VPN, which allows its staff to remotely connect to internal systems. Dish employees working from home have been told not to log into their VPN, effectively preventing them from working.
Dish has not commented on whether the cyberattack was a ransomware incident or what demands, if any, have been made by the attackers. Dish has about 7.6 million television subscribers, and the company's outage is expected to have a significant impact on its customers.
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