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Cyber attack leads to Isentia's H1 loss

Steven DeareAAP
A cyber attack has led to a first-half loss for media monitoring agency Isentia.
Camera IconA cyber attack has led to a first-half loss for media monitoring agency Isentia.

A cyber attack has cost media monitoring agency Isentia more than $4 million and led to a first-half loss.

The company on Friday posted a net loss after tax of $5.87 million, due to the cyber crime and pandemic.

The cyber attack in October hampered customers using Isentia's Mediaportal software, which helps track media reporting.

Isentia took about three weeks to fully restore the service, after hiring cyber security experts.

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The company provided discounts and credit to affected customers, which reduced revenue by $3.3 million.

There were also remediation costs. Isentia said the total earnings impact was about $4.4 million for the first half.

Government agencies and business use these services to track the success of marketing and public relations campaigns, and monitor reputations.

Chief executive Ed Harrison said the trading period had been difficult.

He said resources were diverted to deal with the cyber incident.

Some projects have been delayed by four to six months as a result.

The impact of the attack is not over. It will reduce full-year earnings by up to $8 million, according to Isentia, due to delays in major projects.

The company said new products planned for release would stabilise the business.

Isentia makes most of its money in Australia and New Zealand, but also trades in southeast Asia.

Shareholders have not received a dividend since the company's 2018 financial year.

Shares were down 15.38 per cent to 11 cents at 1546 AEDT.

The share price was close to the record low of 10.5 cents.

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