Ending Soon! Save 33% on All Access

Media Company Hacked, Sending Thousands 'Vile' and 'Racist' Push Notifications Fast Company's website shut down on Tuesday after a hacker gained access to the company's internal system.

By Emily Rella

For believers in Mercury Retrograde, technology going awry and the prevalence of thieves and hackers are a high risk during the planetary backspin.

Retrograde or not, one media site had to shutter its entire website late Tuesday after a hacker gained access to the company's push notifications and sent out two racist messages to Fast Company subscribers on Apple News.

The hackers gained access to the website's CMS Tuesday night, which resulted in "two obscene and racist push notifications" sent through Apple News about one minute apart, the outlet wrote in a statement on its website.

"The messages are vile and are not in line with the content and ethos of Fast Company," the company said. "We are investigating the situation and have shut down FastCompany.com until the situation has been resolved."

According to screenshots of the notifications, the hacker appears to be someone who calls themselves "Thrax."

Twitter via @katelynnables1

This follows a prior attack over the weekend when a hacker managed to post similar slurs and language on several of the company's websites which resulted in the site being disabled for two hours.

Apple News also disabled Fast Company's channel following the hack.

"Fast Company regrets that such abhorrent language appeared on our platforms and in Apple News, and we apologize to anyone who saw it before it was taken down," the outlet said.

Others on Twitter confirmed to be disturbed by the hacks.

As of 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, the website was still disabled.

Tuesday's hack comes after a similar attack last week at Uber when a teenager hacked into Uber's internal systems and sent pornographic images and expletives on the company Slack channel.

Emily Rella

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Career

Is Consumer Services a Good Career Path for 2024? Here's the Verdict

Consumer services is a broad field with a variety of benefits and drawbacks. Here's what you should consider before choosing it as a career path.

Business News

'Creators Left So Much Money on the Table': Kickstarter's CEO Reveals the Story Behind the Company's Biggest Changes in 15 Years

In an interview with Entrepreneur, Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor explains the decision-making behind the changes, how he approaches leading Kickstarter, and his advice for future CEOs.

Business Ideas

87 Service Business Ideas to Start Today

Get started in this growing industry, with options that range from IT consulting to childcare.