Ransomware Attack Takes Queens Public Library Offline

By Elena Vasquez

Hackers took the Queens Public Library's entire online network offline on Wednesday, November 4, and are holding it for ransom. The attack hit all 66 branches of one of New York City's three public library systems.

Every branch remains open, the QPL said in a statement. But the outage is sweeping. According to the library, disruptions affect:

• the library website
• on-site public computers
• check-out and return machines
• Wi-Fi
• the QPL mobile app
• all digital media services

The library has not disclosed what the hackers are demanding, or how much. No one knows yet who is behind the attack.

What did QPL's leadership say?

QPL CEO Dennis Walcott confirmed the ransomware attack to Gothamist. "Unfortunately, it's part of the world that we live in right now," Walcott said. "So the Queens Public Library is a victim of the type of world that we're living in, where people are launching cyber attacks against various types of entities, large corporations, and now Queens Public Library."

Walcott's framing carries an oddity of its own. The QPL is not a large corporation. It is a small nonprofit, and not even New York's largest library system. The New York Public Library, serving Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, runs 92 locations. The Brooklyn Public Library operates 62 branches.

Walcott also said it is currently unknown whether user information has been compromised.

Why target a library?

The target choice defies easy explanation. A public library's core business is free access: books, media, internet, printing, education programs, and community and children's programming. The QPL serves one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse boroughs in the world, making a ransom demand against it a strike at free public infrastructure rather than at a profit-driven enterprise.

Can patrons still borrow books?

Yes — by hand. Staff can check books in and out manually, so analog methods have kept the branches functioning while digital systems remain dark. Visitors cannot, for now, use the website, app, Wi-Fi, digital media or public computers.

The library has promised further updates. The unresolved questions — the ransom amount, the attackers' identity, and the status of user data — will determine how costly this attack proves for the 66-branch system and its patrons.