MyAnimeList, the popular anime and manga tracking website, is currently offline due to a vulnerability that was discovered earlier today. According to user reports, the website was breached earlier today and all titles on it were changed to “LET’S ALL LOVE LAIN” (a reference to the 1998 Serial Experiments Lain anime).
A tweet issued on My Anime List’s official Twitter states: “We are undergoing emergency maintenance as our team works to investigate and repair a vulnerability that was discovered this morning PDT. At this time, we are unsure of how long the maintenance will take. We will update you when we know more. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
MyAnimeList (MAL) was launched in 2004 as a passion project by Garrett Gyssler. CraveOnline bought it in 2008 and remained as the owner until 2015 when DeNA bought it. Media Do, a Japanese distribution company, acquired the website in 2019.
MAL website currently has an online manga store, created in partnership with Kodansha Comics and Viz Media, allowing users to purchase manga digitally from the website. In the past, they offered video embeds from Crunchyroll, Hulu, and later HIDIVE.
Kodansha, Shueisha and Shogakukan revealed that they invested in the website. It is the top tracking website among anime and manga fans at the moment – with many using it to rate their favorite seasonals and discuss new releases.
This is not the first unexpected downtime for MAL: in 2018 site staff took the website offline for maintenance, citing security and privacy concerns (GDPR compliance). Third-party API was disabled at the time (it was only recently reinstated).
It is unclear who is behind the breach and what their motives are. Some users speculate that it is a prank by fans of Serial Experiments Lain, while others suspect that it is a malicious attack by hackers who want to access user data or sabotage the website.
The breach has caused frustration and inconvenience for many MAL users who rely on the website to keep track of their anime and manga consumption and preferences. Some users have expressed their support and appreciation for the MAL staff who are working hard to restore the website as soon as possible.
The breach has also sparked discussions on social media about the security and reliability of MAL and other similar websites. Some users have suggested that MAL should implement better security measures and backup systems to prevent future breaches. Others have recommended that users should diversify their sources of information and use alternative websites or apps to track their anime and manga.
As of now, there is no official announcement on when the website will be back online or what steps will be taken to address the breach. Users are advised to stay tuned for updates from MAL’s official Twitter account or other reliable sources.
