Latest research by Google has reportedly revealed that 80 percent of top news organizations in the US have been target of government sponsored malware attacks.
As Google has been tracking state-sponsored malware for nearly two years, it was found that 21 out of the top 25 top organizations were targeted for such attacks.
According to The Verge, Google security engineers revealed the statistics indicative of the attacks, which disproportionately target the press, including those targeting the Associated Press in Vietnam and reporters at The New York Times.
This comes after Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) recently carried out attacks on websites belonging to Forbes and The New York Times, as well as more general targets like Twitter.
The US' NSA has also been reportedly accused of targeting regulators and charities, but no specific reports have linked the agency to attacks on the press, the report added.