BEND — The Deschutes Public Library has closed all locations until Monday morning due to a cybersecurity attack that occurred Thursday morning.

When the library system’s IT department detected suspicious activity on one of the library’s servers Thursday morning, staff immediately “turned off the server in the middle of this happening,” as well as shut down all remote access to the library’s computer systems, library director Todd Dunkelberg said.

“That stopped all activity,” Dunkelberg said Friday about the cyberattack, which was first reported by KTVZ, as well as Oregon Public Broadcasting.

The library has cyber insurance and the insurance company “immediately connected” the library with Arete, a company based in Boca Raton, Fla., specializing in cybersecurity.

The company is working with the library’s IT staff to conduct a full forensic review of the attack and the files and information that were affected.

The library’s IT staff, who Dunkelberg said are working 16-to-18-hour days, are also resetting all security protocols, such as passwords, to the computer system.

Dunkelberg said he is “very confident” that no confidential information was compromised during the attack, including sensitive and confidential information concerning library staff and the library’s patrons. The library’s financial records also were not affected, he said.

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The only files affected by the attack are press releases, photographs, video footage, and other promotional material created by the library’s communications staff.

Dunkelberg said “there are always attempts” to hack into the library’s computer system, but the library’s anti-viral software blocked those attempts. This is the first time the library’s system has been hacked.

The Deschutes County library system is not the only public library system to have fallen victim to cyberattacks.

Earlier this year, the Pierce County Library System, in Pierce County, Wash., experienced a cyberattack that compromised the personal information of more than 340,000 patrons and library staff. The Seattle Public Library also experienced an attack this year, which affected 27,000 people. Fort Bend County’s library system, in Houston, Texas, experienced an attack that did not affect patrons.

In 2023, the British Library experienced a massive cyberattack of the library’s information systems. When the library refused the hacker’s ransom request of 20 bitcoin, or about $800,000, the hackers leaked half a terabyte of information. The library’s online catalog was impaired for months. 

Comparatively, Dunkelberg said the Deschutes Public Library is “pretty lucky,” and the decision to close all library branches through Monday morning is a “very conservative approach,” he said.

“We didn’t want to try to operate and try to solve these issues. That probably would have opened us to more threats. For the safety and security for everybody, it was best to really take a cautionary road.”

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Plus, the impact to patrons is minimal. Two events scheduled this weekend were canceled. Each day, according to Dunkelberg, anywhere between 1,500 to 2,500 people visit the library’s branches in Bend, Redmond, Sisters, Sunriver and La Pine — the largest library system in Central Oregon.

While patrons cannot browse or return books (even book drops are closed), they can still access their library account through the library’s Biblio Commons website, as well as use the Libby app to access online books, audiobooks, and magazines.

Throughout his conversation with Oregon ArtsWatch, Dunkelberg struck an optimistic tone, based off what he already knew about the cyberattack and what his IT team has been reporting to him.

And, he said determinedly, one of the library’s signature events will not be derailed. Each year, the library hosts “the Train Man,” the nickname for Michael Lavrich, who has displayed his collection of model trains at the Downtown Bend library for 25 years. Dunkelberg said the event draws approximately 6,000 people.

He said, “that starts on Monday.”