The Boston Public Library (BPL) suffers ”a statewide technical outage” after being targeted by a cyberattack that started on Wednesday morning.
- The Boston Public Library is working to restore its digital services after being hit by a cyberattack.
- The attack affected public computers, printing services and online resources.
- The Library’s IT department is working on restoring all technology services.
The Boston Public Library (BPL) suffers ”a statewide technical outage” after being targeted by a cyberattack that started on Wednesday morning.
Boston Public Library is the third-largest public library in the United States and serves almost 4 million visitors per year through its central library.
The Boston Public Library experienced a systemwide technical outage on Wednesday morning due to a cyberattack, pausing public computers and public printing services, and some online resources.
The systems were taken down immediately, and proactive steps were taken to isolate the problem and shut down network communication.
In collaboration with law enforcement and the Mayor's IT experts, an ongoing investigation has not yet found any evidence of employee or patron data stolen from the impacted systems.
BPL's IT department is restoring all affected devices and services, with physical locations and some online services still available. Patrons will still be able to check out books.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this outage may have caused patrons," said Kurt Mansperger, Chief Technology Officer of the BPL.
“Thank you for your patience as our team and law enforcement officials work to restore our digital services and protect the library from future attacks."
In an email, David Leonard, president of the Boston Public Library, said to employees that it does not appear that the problem was caused by staff negligence or error. He said some data may be lost permanently by the cyberattack and will have to be rebuilt.
“The extent of this is still being assessed," he added. “The attack was indeed that bad."
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