NBC.Com Back Online After Hackers Knocks Out Service

NBC.com, the primary website for Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s NBC television network, was restored to normal service after being attacked by hackers.

Network parent NBC Universal is trying to determine how the attack occurred and how long the site was affected for, Tracy St. Pierre, a spokeswoman for the New York-based network, said today in a telephone interview. No user data was stolen, St. Pierre said.

Hackers infected NBC.com with Citadel Trojan, a data- stealing malware that can spread to the machines of visitors, according to Tony Perez, chief operating officer of Sucuri Inc., which monitors websites and can remove malware. The NBC site was disrupted for several hours, based on Sucuri’s testing, he said.

The incident follows recent attacks on companies including Apple Inc. (AAPL), Facebook Inc. (FB) and Twitter Inc. Those attacks were linked to an Eastern European gang of hackers that is trying to steal company secrets, Bloomberg News reported Feb. 20, citing two people familiar with the matter.

NBC.com offers information about network news, sports and entertainment programming and streams episodes of entertainment shows.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net