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BPL knocked offline

Boston Public Library site reports outage

Update: BPL blames hackers.

Greg Cook reports the Boston Public Library has been offline for two days now due to an unspecified "system wide technical outage."

Fortunately, BPL says, the outage hasn't affected doors, so all branches remain open with AC running, at least during regular hours.

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Comments

Anyone on the inside with a yea or nay as to if it's feasible to hever have the sparkly new JP branch open again on Saturdays? I've been sad since it closed.

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They usually have Saturday hours during the school year. Hope they will do that again this year.

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A number of branches will be open Saturdays after Labor Day weekend. JP I believe is one. Others will remain closed on Saturdays until staffing vacancies are filled.

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That sucks.

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Could this be ransomware?

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It's been a few weeks since we have heard about someone being hacked. Not that BPL has deep pockets but....it's a possibility.

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I think it was the Insurrectionist Scum from January 6, and their Russian friends who DIRECTLY hacked the server.

Whether that, or ransomware, I hope they catch the culprit and prosecute them to the fullest extent of FEDERAL law. Then, make them wear a Skinner vest and keep them in the public population.

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that there are literally no search results from ANY search engines about the cause of outage.

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Or is it just that BPL hasn't made a public announcement about what happened, so no one's able to report on what caused it yet?

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Perhaps I'm wrong, but I thought it was typical for organizations being subjected to cyberattacks to keep things quiet until the matter is resolved, the damage has been controlled and they're ready to make a public statement. No?

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common practice to not go public with details until the attack is at least contained, if not yet recovered from.

And no, the notion that the perpetrators will be tracked down and brought to justice is not probable. Cryptocurrency makes it harder to follow the money trail these days. Even if law enforcement can figure out who did it, most attackers operate beyond the extradition reach of their targets, and Putin, Xi, Kim and Khamenei aren't cracking down on local cybercriminals who cause problems in rival states. Their intelligence services, when not mounting attacks themselves, are likely aiding and abetting the cybercrime gangs with tech and talent. Kim is probably mostly funding his regime with ransomware profits these days.

I also doubt it's the work of native seditionists. They don't seem like the tech-savviest bunch to me, short of organizing physical attacks with laughably poor operational security on social media. The far more obvious explanation is garden-variety cybercrooks, likely operating out of Russia, sure, but for profit and because it's the most popular safe haven for them, not geopolitical ends.

You attack libraries, municipal governments, and other public institutions because of the pressure to pay up quickly, as it's embarrassing to local officials. It's not because you think it will bring down the local chapter of Anteeeeefa, even if it's common knowledge that they organize their nefarious schemes in public libraries.

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Wot?

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And maybe someone will explain.

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