Politics & Government
Boston Public Library: Statement From The Boston Public Library: Technical Outage
On Wednesday morning, 8/25, the Boston Public Library experienced a systemwide technical outage due to a cybersecurity attack, pausing p ...
August 27, 2021
On Wednesday morning, 8/25, the Boston Public Library experienced a systemwide technical outage due to a cybersecurity attack, pausing public computer and public printing services, as well as some online resources. Affected systems were taken offline immediately, and proactive steps were taken to isolate the problem and shutdown network communication. There is currently no evidence that sensitive employee or patron data has been disclosed.
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The library is working with the Mayor’s Department of Innovation and Technology and law enforcement officials to address the cybersecurity attack. The Library’s IT department is working on restoring all technology services, and in the meantime, all locations will remain open, patrons will still be able to check out books, and some online services remain operational. This is an ongoing situation and the library will update patrons and staff about services and impacts on its website.
“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."
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Patrons may contact the library with any questions at 617-536-5400 or ask@bpl.org.
Press may contact Natasha Fee at news@bpl.org or 617-859-2348.
OverDrive update:
We are working to restore login asap. OverDrive will be pausing all existing BPL holds, and will resume them once the technical issue has been resolved.
However, some holds may become available depending on their current status. If you receive an OverDrive notification for a ready hold, or if you lost your chance to check out a hold that became available during the outage, please make a record of it! Save the email or take a screenshot of the app. After logins are restored, if you still have not received your items, you can email that record to overdrive@bpl.org and we will ensure your items are delivered as soon as possible.
This press release was produced by Boston Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
