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LEGO’s online marketplace BrickLink was taken down last week when “unusual activity on the platform” was detected, raising suspicions that a cyber-attack took place.
BrickLink is still down as of 12 November, with a message on the homepage saying it is “temporarily unavailable”, with no indication as to when it will come back online.
The site is a massive online secondary marketplace for buying and selling individual LEGO parts, sets and minifigures, called the “eBay of LEGO”.
LEGO has since issued a statement, published on community site Jay’s Brick Blog.
“We took BrickLink offline after identifying unusual activity on the platform,” it said. “Our immediate priority was to secure the site, protect our members and ensure the integrity of BrickLink.”
“Before bringing the site back online, we need to fully understand what has happened. That means containing the issue, investigating how it happened and checking for related issues,” it added. “This work is still on-going, and we appreciate your patience while we work to get things back online as soon as possible.”
Cybersecurity expert and CEO of cybersecurity firm Lupovis, Xavier Bellekens, told Euronews Next that the latest incident is “a reminder that cybercriminals don’t just target banks or critical infrastructure”.
Online marketplaces are a particularly appealing opportunity for attackers, according to Bellekens, giving them access to accounts to carry out fraudulent activities or even use personal data for phishing campaigns.
“Taking the platform offline is a sensible precaution, but every additional day of downtime has a real financial impact on the businesses that rely on it,” he added.
He warned that users should be “particularly vigilant about emails claiming to be from BrickLink, especially those asking them to reset passwords, verify payment details or access an alternative marketplace”.