Today host Karl Stefanovic laughs off cyber attack on Channel Nine

In Soviet Russia, Today show wakes up with you! Karl Stefanovic laughs off cyber attack on Channel Nine as rumours swirl it was retaliation for Liz Hayes’ exposé about Vladimir Putin’

Today anchor Karl Stefanovic has laughed off speculation Russia was behind the cyber attack on that prevented Channel Nine shows from going to air on Sunday.

The 46-year-old jokingly blamed his colleague Liz Hayes for the technical difficulties as he arrived at Nine’s North Sydney headquarters on Monday morning.

Hayes is tonight set to host an episode of Under Investigation that exposes Russian president Vladimir Putin’s deadly campaign of chemical assassination against his enemies in the West – and security experts believe the ‘massive ransomware attack’ was orchestrated by Russia in retaliation.

‘Technical difficulties’: Today anchor Karl Stefanovic has laughed off speculation Russia was behind the cyber attack on that prevented Channel Nine shows from going to air on Sunday

In a video shared to Today’s Instagram account, Stefanovic pretended the elevators were malfunctioning as he spoke to a producer behind the camera.

‘We’ve had a few technical issues… with the lifts,’ he began.

‘Of course we’ve been hacked by someone overseas,’ he added, before turning to the camera and whispering: ‘Maybe it was the Russians?’

‘Because Liz Hayes, she’s a bad woman,’ Stefanovic continued. ‘She’s doing an investigation into Vladimir Putin on Under Investigation.

‘So we have to go through a little bit of suffering this morning, but you at home, you will not be able to spot any different in the quality of the show.’

The Nine Network was the target of a cyber-attack on Sunday which disrupted its live programming out of Sydney.