Anime fans around the world were shocked and frustrated when MyAnimeList, the largest anime database website, was reportedly hacked earlier today.
According to reports, several users were unable to access the website and noticed that all the anime titles on MAL had been replaced with a phrase that read “LET’S ALL LOVE LAIN.
In case you are not familiar with the term “Let’s All Love Lain”, it is a phrase taken from anime series titled “Serial Experiments Lain”, which is a cyberpunk-themed show. “Let’s All Love Lain” has been used by fans to show their appreciation for the series and its main character.
Fans of the anime series “Serial Experiments Lain” will recognize the phrase as a reference to the show’s main character.
MyAnimeList Hacked
Initially, some users thought it might be a harmless prank pulled by someone on the MyAnimeList staff or a user. After all, the website has a history of playing pranks on its users, like changing the cover images of anime series to cats on April Fool’s Day. However, things quickly took a turn for the worse when the website went down altogether, and users began to receive a “403 ERROR The request could not be satisfied” message.
Fans immediately took to Twitter, expressing their concerns and hoping for an update from the MyAnimeList team. Finally, the website’s homepage was updated, and it now displays a message that the website is currently under maintenance. In an emergency notice published on their help page, MyAnimeList confirmed that a cyber attack had occurred earlier in the day.
The hacker not only modified the anime titles on the website but also inserted a code that displayed a popup whenever a user visited their profile or lists during the attack. Fortunately, MyAnimeList assured its users that their personal information had been stored in compliance with government regulations, and so far, no data breach of users’ personal information had been found.
The MyAnimeList team is currently working to find and resolve all the methods used by the hacker for the attack. At the time of writing, they were unsure when the website would be online and out of maintenance mode. Fans are eagerly awaiting updates from the website’s social media accounts and hoping that it will be back up and running soon.
MyAnimeList was created in 2004 and has grown into one of the largest anime and manga websites in the world. For many anime fans, it is an essential tool for keeping track of their favorite anime series, and the thought of losing years of their profile information is a daunting one.
What are your thoughts on this attack? Do you think it was just a harmless prank, or was someone trying to take down the website? Let us know your opinion in the comment section below.
