Owner of the the Strand Book Store Nancy Bass wrote to customers asking for support to sustain and save the business: “The Strand’s revenue has dropped nearly 70 percent compared to last year…. Because of the impact of Covid-19, we cannot survive the huge decline in foot traffic, a near-complete loss of tourism, and zero in-store events.” Bass says, “The next few months will determine the future of The Strand.” The store did receive a PPP loan, reported by their union to be over $1 million. Bass says that loan and their cash reserves “allowed us to weather the past […]
Bookstores
Barnes & Noble Hack Said to be Confirmed As Ransomware Attack; Nook Restoration Almost Complete
A reporter for BleepingComputer says he has confirmed what has been suspected since the Barnes & Noble cybersecurity attack was first observed: A group using the new Egregor ransomware “is claiming responsibility,” having “gained access to [the] corporate network” and “state that they stole unencrypted files as part of the attack.” The site says it “was contacted by a threat actor who stated that the Egregor ransomware operation was behind the attack.” They add that the group “published files that they claim were stolen during the attack on Barnes & Noble.” But their take on those proof packet files is […]
People, Etc.
Poets & Writers managing director Melissa Ford Gradel will take over as the organization’s executive director in January, when Elliot Figman steps down, after leading the nonprofit since 1981. Figman said: “It’s been my honor to work together with such talented and passionate colleagues. While parting is, indeed, sweet sorrow, I’m delighted to pass the baton to Melissa, who has a deep understanding of our mission, vision, and values and is uniquely qualified to take the helm. As I reflect on my time at Poets & Writers, I’m so proud that we’ve built this organization to be a widely respected […]
NYT On the Struggles of Indie Booksellers
The NYT explains to general readers the challenging situation for many independent booksellers as they balance hopes for the critical holiday season against the challenges of shopping in a pandemic — exacerbated by limits on printing and reprints, and slower and more expensive shipping, and higher expenses regardless. The ABA surveyed members in July and among the approximately 400 respondents, a third said their sales were down 40 percent or more for the year. That 40 percent is in line with what Vroman’s in Los Angeles told customers when appealing for help to survive. Twenty-six percent indicated sales were flat, […]
Barnes & Noble Admits “Cybersecurity Attack”
By Wednesday evening Barnes & Noble admitted to customers that the “serious network issue” we reported on Tuesday was indeed “a cybersecurity attack, which resulted in unauthorized and unlawful access to certain Barnes & Noble corporate systems.” Previously, the company had only said they were “investigating the cause.” As we had suggested, the company also now confirms the bookseller was “made aware” of the attack back on Saturday, October 10, and systems have been impaired since then. On Thursday morning BN executive Jackie DeLeo sent an email to publishers as well. The effects were so sweeping, as we previously described, […]
Barnes & Noble Says Most “Systems Are Back Online” After Major, Multi-Day Problem, But Nook Is Still Being Restored
Barnes & Noble suffered a serious, widespread, unspecified IT systems problem that appears to have begun on Saturday and was mostly remediated by Tuesday afternoon. The most obvious signs of the problem to the outside world were significant issues accessing Nook titles and other data (libraries, wishlists, etc.) and problems logging into BN.com accounts and reported delays in shipping those orders, while in-store customers appear to have faced at least some checkout issues and difficulty with special orders, stock-finding and other functions that required computer assistance. A BN spokesperson told PL Tuesday afternoon, “We have a serious network issue and […]