Fanfiction writers and readers were disheartened to learn about the recent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting Archive of Our Own (AO3). These attacks have disrupted the beloved fanfiction platform, leaving users frustrated and concerned. Let us delve into the details of these attacks with one pressing question in mind: “When can we expect the AO3 servers to go back online?”
AO3 Under Cyber Attack:
When will servers be back online?
Archive of Our Own (AO3) is a renowned non-profit online archive that has become a cornerstone of the fanfiction community. With over 11 million fan-written works across 57,840 different fandoms, AO3 has gained both popularity and literary acclaim. It even won the prestigious 2019 Hugo Award for Best Related Work. And now, a cyberattack recently targeted the people’s favorite fanfiction platform. This has caused widespread distress and disappointment among its users.
The DDoS Attack: Disrupting AO3’s Services
On Monday, July 10, Archive of Our Own (AO3) experienced a wave of DDoS attacks. These happen when malicious actors flood a website with overwhelming service requests, incapacitating it and forcing it to go offline for users.
The official Twitter account of AO3 first mentioned some technical issues with the website. Later, it turned out that the website was under a cyberattack:
We're trying a new approach to defend against the ongoing DDoS attack, so you may see error messages that say "429" instead of "Retry later." (429 is the error code for too many requests.)
— AO3 Status (@AO3_Status) July 11, 2023
Who launched the attack? What are their motives?
AO3 disclosed that the DDoS attacks were orchestrated by a collective of religiously and politically motivated hackers.
- The hacktivist group, Anonymous Sudan, claimed responsibility for the DDoS attacks, stating their opposition to what they perceive as “degeneracy” present on AO3.
- Cybersecurity experts suggest that the attackers may aim to disrupt and stir division in the West.
Reason for Targeting 👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/70xTRNZjkX
— FalconFeeds.io (@FalconFeedsio) July 10, 2023
AO3 has assured its users that their personal data remains uncompromised during the attacks.
Anonymous Sudan’s Ransom Demand
- Anonymous Sudan, initially claiming that the attacks would continue for up to 24 hours, later issued a ransom demand of $30,000 in Bitcoin.
- They threatened to prolong the attacks on AO3 for “weeks” if their demands were not met.
When will AO3 servers be back online?
Archive of our Own assures users that they are diligently implementing countermeasures to mitigate the recent DDoS attacks. However, they have not provided a specific timeline for when the servers will be fully operational again.
- As AO3 continues to work tirelessly to rectify the situation, we encourage people to stay updated through AO3’s Twitter account.
- The organization has been providing timely information regarding the progress and restoration of the website’s services on its Twitter handle.
We're still working to mitigate the DDoS attacks. In the meantime, you may receive various error messages or encounter display issues with the site layout.
— AO3 Status (@AO3_Status) July 11, 2023
Conclusion
In conclusion, Archive of Our Own (AO3) is currently facing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks orchestrated by a group called Anonymous Sudan.
- While AO3 is diligently working to mitigate the attacks and restore their services, there is no specific timeline for when the servers will be back online.
- The organization assures its users that personal data remains uncompromised, and they are actively providing updates on the situation through their Twitter account.
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