Yes24 down again after cyberattack, restored by afternoon

Yes24 app displays a notice citing heavy traffic or technical errors as causes of temporary disruptions. (Screencapture from Yes24 website)

Yes24, the country’s largest online bookseller and a major ticketing platform, experienced another cyberattack early Monday, causing its website and app to go offline just two months after a major ransomware attack.

Service was restored by the afternoon.

A Yes24 official confirmed that the early-morning ransomware attack disabled user access.

"We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the external ransomware attack that occurred around 4:40 a.m.," the official said.

"We have been working to restore the service, and as of 11:30 a.m., all services are fully accessible and functioning normally."

Users reported being unable to access the website, e-books and other services from early morning, with the site and app remaining down until around 11 a.m. Yes24 website and app displayed notices citing heavy traffic or technical errors as causes of temporary disruptions.

In June, Yes24’s systems were paralyzed by a ransomware attack, with services gradually resuming five days later. At that time, the company delayed informing users and authorities until media reports surfaced.

With 20 million registered users and a diverse inventory spanning books, music, stationery, and tickets for concerts and theater performances, the outage resulted in prolonged and widespread disruptions.

After the June attack, Yes24’s co-CEOs, Kim Seok-hwan and Choi Se-ra, issued an apology and pledged to overhaul the company’s security measures, increase funding and bring in outside experts to strengthen its cybersecurity.