Banijay had its IT systems compromised by a bad actor demanding a ransom, potentially exposing the personal information of 1000 of staff. Deadline understands that it was the systems of Endemol Shine Group, Banijay’s $2.2B acquisition, that were breached in the cyber attack. Staff have been told it could include bank account information and ID records, such as passport data, though this is yet to be confirmed. The breach could also impact former employees, who are yet to be notified. Deadline hears that the hack has downed internal systems, with distribution arm Banijay Rights, said to be particularly affected.

French multinational production and distribution firm Banijay Group SAS suffered a DoppelPaymer ransomware attack in November 2020. The attackers targeted pre-existing Endemol Shine Group and Endemol Shine International networks which were acquired by the Banijay in July 2020. The attack compromised certain personal data of current and ex-employees as well as commercially sensitive information. The company along with the local authorities in both the Netherlands and the UK investigated the incident.