Barnes & Noble’s Nook Service Still Crippled by Hack
It has been over two weeks since hackers had their way with B&N’s servers, and the retailer still hasn’t fully recovered.
The hack, which has since been confirmed as a ransomware attack, originated in B&N’s corporate offices before spreading to their servers, store computers, and even the cash registers. All parts of B&N were affected, and while most functionality was restored within a few days, B&N’s Nook service is still only semi-functional.
And that includes the author side, as well as the reader. I got a comment last night from an author whose book launch has been delayed as a result of B&N’s server issues:
This is even effecting the authors back end of Barnes & Noble. Unfortunately my book was supposed to go live on the 22nd, we get vague updates about how the “dashboard is working” but they are “still working on other issues”….it’s not the 26th? oof. I know one other author who hasn’t had their book live since the hack day itself. every day authors can’t sell books after the pre-marketed publish date is a wasted sales day, every day is a missed book sold opportunity.
Over on the reader side, I can report first hand that my library of Nook ebooks is still mostly inaccessible. I have two Nook accounts, and the one with my thousands of Fictionwise purchases cannot be accessed via the B&N website and it is still not syncing with the Nook app on my Android smartphone. My second, test account can be accessed via the B&N website, but it’s also not syncing with the Nook app.
Just about the only thing that can be accessed from the Nook app are new purchases made in the app itself.
This could not happen at a worst time for B&N. We going into the holiday sales period during a time when ebook sales are increasing as a result of the pandemic. This would have been a great opportunity for B&N to reinvigorate ebook sales and start turning around its digital division, but instead this is looking more like another nail in Nook’s coffin.
Comments
Disgusting Dude October 27, 2020 um 11:27 am
It’s all about organization and priorities.
Organizationally, B&N is the storefronts. BN.com and Nook are separate contract operations, which is why they won’t pricematch their online in the stores.
And why Nook is still crippled.
Obviously there’s only so much two part time contractors can do.
john October 28, 2020 um 12:20 pm
My nook account, inventory of ebooks, and reading apps/devices continue to work just fine.
Gary Sundell October 28, 2020 um 5:01 pm
I can access my library on both my Samsung Nook and my Nook app on my phone. One book purchased after the attack shows on my app but not on my main device. Additionally, samples are missing from new releases and at least one sample that I tried to get last night still hasn’t shown yet.
Sue October 28, 2020 um 5:17 pm
So far all my nook books are back on all my devices. However, the lack of notification from B&N is discouraging. Both the initial lack, and the ongoing lack of any kind of updates. I love my nook..like it better than my kindle, so I hope the whole nook thing doesn’t go belly up.
Barbara Matthews October 28, 2020 um 8:22 pm
My book and purchases are working fine. I, however, order from my book reader.