Information about the cyber-attack
On Sunday June 26th 2021, Short Édition's Amazon hosted servers were the target of a large-scale cyber-attack in the early morning.
Our site has been intentionally down, and cut off from outside communication since the discovery of the attack Sunday morning.
With the aid of cybersecurity professionals, we immediately took defensive measures and began to identify the extent of the damage caused in the attack. We have also begun the process of reporting the cyber-attack to the appropriate public authorities (cyber-police, National Commission on Informatics and Liberty) with the aim of taking legal action in the wake of this serious incident.
The cyber-attack targeted a large part of our database and caused significant damage to our user data, community data, as well as our internal business data. Since Sunday morning, the tech team has been working tirelessly to reassemble and restore our database from local backups, unaffected by the attack.
You're probably wondering; what does all this mean for you, the users of the site, and more specifically the authors of Short Édition?
1. My personal data
Following the cyber-attack, all personal data provided on your Account has been compromised. You are required to reset your password to access your Short Édition personal space.
Moreover, if you’ve ever used your previous Short Édition password on another website, we advise you to change it as soon as possible, as a precaution.
Exception: if you log into Short Édition with your Facebook account, please note that your password hasn’t been compromised.
1.1. How to reset my password?
1.2. Has my personal data been compromised?
All information provided on your Short Édition account may have been compromised including:
- Real name
- Email address
- Postal address
- Telephone number
- Birthdate
- Other
Your banking info and/or the email address linked to your PayPal account may also have been compromised, if provided on your account. However, these information can only be used to wire money and are ineffective to withdraw money.
2. My works
2.1. At least one of my pieces is published on the website:
Your text is intact and is still published on the website. You can share it for the world to see!
2.2. At least one of my pieces is dispensed via the Short Story Dispenser:
Your text is still in circulation via the Short Story Dispenser, traveling all around the world and entertaining readers from all cultures.
2.3. I’ve sent a work to be reviewed after June 18th:
Unfortunately, all works submitted to Short Circuit or Philly Storied City after June 18th have partially been lost. We have been able to retrieve some data (such as the title of the piece submitted) but we’ve essentially lost the content of your work. All the pieces in question have been moved to the "correction" mode. You can access it via your Account, fill in the missing text and send your short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction or children’s fiction back to us.
2.4. At least one of my pieces was still being reviewed by Short Édition Review Team:
Unfortunately, all works under review for Short Circuit, Philly Storied City or The Current, have been partially lost, regardless of their submission date. We’ve been able to retrieve some data (such as the title of the piece submitted) but we’ve basically lost the content of your work. All the pieces in question have been moved to the "correction" mode. You can access it via your Account, fill in the missing text and send your short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction or children’s fiction back to us.
3. My community
Sadly, most of the community interactions have been lost. Here is how you might have been impacted:
3.1. I don’t have any followers anymore, and I’m not following anybody either. Is that normal?
As all the information regarding your followers and those you follow have been lost, you won’t receive any notifications from us whenever your favorite authors publish a new text on the website.
We encourage you to start fresh and rediscover all the wonderful works published on the website, whether in the Short Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction or Children’s category.
3.2. Where have the comments below my work gone?
All comments posted below works published on the website have been lost.
Feel free to leave a nice comment for the author if you happen to remember a piece that particularly moved you. Or if you discover a new one!
3.3. What about the likes and readings on my work?
Luckily, we’ve been able to retrieve all the likes and readings associated with your work.