LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Update: The Central Arkansas Library System said its internet access was restored around noon on Feb. 21.
According to officials, CALS is still trying to determine if any files were stolen, but the organization said there's "no indication" anything was lost during the cyberattack.
CALS said its experts believe an organization known as Lockbit was behind the attack.
In today's world, we're all at risk of being victims of a cyberattack, and big companies and organizations are no exception.
Experts said they're targeted pretty often, which is something the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) is learning firsthand.
CALS is actively trying to get its internet network back up and running due to a cybersecurity attack.
"We know it's frustrating to the community, frustrating to our staff," CALS Executive Director Nate Coulter said.
Coulter said this is not a situation they want to be in, but experts are working quickly to get their systems running again.
They first noticed the internet outage on Feb. 6.
"This had to be some sort of hack, some sort of invasion of our firewall that resulted in the shutdown," Coulter said.
Although they still don't have working internet, Coulter said most other library services are available.
"You can still go to the library and check out the books," Coulter said. "You can still use your device to download audiobooks or ebooks, to get things that are digital content from the library."
Those who have library cards expiring during this internet outage have to renew them roundaboutly.
Regarding your personal information getting out, Coulter said he has no reason to believe it's out of their cloud server.
"We also take the obligation to protect people's information very seriously," Coulter said.
According to experts, you should take cybersecurity seriously when spending time online.
"Be cautious about what people ask you to do," UA Little Rock Cybersecurity Professor Philip Huff said. "Don't just blindly follow directives are things that you may be interested in when you're browsing through social media and through your email and such."
Huff said it's pretty common for bigger organizations to become targets.
"In over the last year, probably, it's been reported two-thirds to about three-fourths of companies worldwide experience or are affected by ransomware attacks," Huff said. "It's just part of doing business."
While there's no set timeline for when the issue at CALS will be resolved, Coulter hopes its sooner rather than later.
"It's just a day-by-day thing," Coulter said.
CALS has set up hotspots to help people get online.
There's also a grace period for returning overdue books because of the connectivity issues.