Effective immediately, Red Wing Public Library patrons will be required to use their library PIN when requesting items via MNLINK, just as they now do when requesting items via our catalog. This additional security measure is a response to a cyber attack launched at MNLINK last week.
Beginning at approximately 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 15, a cyber attack was directed at MNLINK.org, a website that provides Minnesota library patrons with access to interlibrary loan services. By 8:30 a.m. that day, the staff who run MNLINK had coordinated to block the attack and restore MNLINK to full function.
In the attack, an automated process attempted to log in to MNLINK by entering a high volume of random patron barcodes. MNLINK’s login page crashed due to the web traffic associated with the attack. A total of 1,709 successful log-ins occurred, all of which were associated with Rochester Public Library accounts. With each successful log-in, data may have been exposed, including the patron’s email address, delivery location, and recent requesting activity.
Minitex, Rochester Public Library, Red Wing Public Library and all MNLINK-participating libraries take the security of patron data very seriously. The MNLINK Operations Committee held an emergency meeting Friday, December 16, and unanimously agreed upon a course of action to improve MNLINK system security in order to prevent future attacks.
As stated above, only data from Rochester Public Library patron accounts may have been exposed. Please contact us if you have any questions.