Fanfiction Library of Alexandria AO3 down for up to a month following hack
Just uncalled-for.
On October 29, the popular fanfiction website Archive of Our Own (AO3) was taken down for maintenance that was initially predicted to last 12 hours. However, the estimated downtime was later extended to two to four weeks. The site's volunteer leadership released a more detailed update on October 30, revealing the security breach that caused the takedown.
As of now, the team is in the early stages of determining the extent of the intrusion. AO3 assured its readers and authors that the archive and its associated data, including bookmarks and kudos, remain intact. Donor information, stored on a separate system, is also safe. However, the team has been unable to rule out that the user database containing emails, usernames, IP addresses, and hashed passwords might have been compromised.
In an effort to be cautious, the team advises users to update their passwords, which is generally good practice. Over the coming weeks, AO3 is expected to be restored in a degraded state with incomplete or read-only access and further intermittent downtime. The reason for the attack remains unclear, but it is speculated that the website's popularity and the weak passwords used by its users could make it a valuable target on the black market.
Moreover, considering fanfiction's historical association with women and the queer community, an ideological motivation cannot be entirely dismissed. Regardless of the motive, such an attack is unjust and harmful, setting a poor example and inviting a lifetime of bad karma. AO3, alongside other platforms like The Internet Archive and Wikipedia, represents a utopian vision of the internet that exists independently of money and corruption. It is incomprehensible why someone would jeopardize such an invaluable resource for everyone.
Written by urgent.news from PC Gamer's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
