The Seattle Public Library was dealing with what it called a “ransomware event” impacting its technology systems on Tuesday, causing disruptions to a number of online services offered by the library.
In a post on the Shelf Talk Blog, the library detailed the cybersecurity attack which started in the early morning hours Saturday as the organization was preparing to take its systems offline for planned maintenance during the holiday weekend.
The attack affected access to staff and public computers, online catalog and loaning systems, e-books and e-audiobooks, in-building Wi-Fi, and the library website, which was still offline Tuesday morning.
“The library quickly engaged third-party forensic specialists, contacted law enforcement, and took our systems fully offline to interrupt and better assess the nature and impacts of the event,” the library said in its blog post.
Buildings remain open at the library’s 27 locations across Seattle, with print books and other physical materials still available for checkout via paper forms.
“Because we cannot currently check physical materials back into our catalog, we encourage you to hold onto them a bit longer,” the library told patrons. “The library does not charge daily late fines for overdue materials. Once we get back online, we will update due dates for materials.”
The library said that privacy and security of patron and employee information are top priorities and that systems will remain offline until security has been restored. There was no timetable for when that might happen.
The disruption in service is the latest in a string of high-profile cybersecurity-related incidents in the U.S.
A ransomware gang called RansomHub has taken credit for a cyberattack against the art auction house Christie’s. The group says it stole 2 gigabytes’ worth of information from Christie’s, including at least 500,000 private clients’ sensitive information, Axios reported.
A cyberattack on Ascension, one of the largest health systems in the U.S., has impacted access to digital records across more than a dozen states, leaving doctors and nurses using paper and handwritten treatment orders to chart patient illnesses and track them, The New York Times reported.
An attack earlier this year paralyzed Change Healthcare, the nation’s biggest health care payment system, causing financial chaos.
