Kansas City’s BLK + BRWN bookstore launches GoFundMe for help recovering from cyber attack
A Kansas City independent bookstore dedicated to amplifying voices of Black and brown authors and creators is trying to recover following a cyber attack.
Cori Smith, owner of BLK + BRWN, said her bookstore’s website was hacked on March 15. In short, the whole site was all but wiped clean after the hacker ransomed it for bitcoin.
The hacker, who had access to Smith’s business email, bank account information and cards, then tried to buy other domains while keeping Smith’s domain hostage until this past Thursday.
“I cannot express how frustrated and deeply personally violated I have felt during this ordeal,” she wrote on her GoFundMe page asking for financial support following the attack.
The storefront officially opened on Juneteenth 2021 with the purpose of amplifying Black and Brown storytelling.
Located on West 39th Street between Broadway Boulevard and Main Street, BLK + BRWN offers a collection of titles from Black and brown authors that span genres including sci-fi, romance, spirituality, self-care, comedy and nonfiction.
The website, when hacked, was home to more than 600 books, products and services.
“A huge piece of the work that we do is made possible by our ability to connect and provide access to our store to those who cannot physically come into our storefront,” Smith wrote on the GoFundMe, which launched Saturday.
Now, that online accessibility is temporarily disabled. Smith is asking for help getting it back.
As of late Sunday morning, the fundraiser had reached nearly $4,500 of its $8,000 goal.
Smith is asking for donations to go toward the following:
- A new website platform
- Time spent rebuilding and developing the website
- Loss of wages during the time the website being down and orders were cancelled
- Cybersecurity software
- Consultations for website development, cyber security and ongoing website surveillance
Smith said the hack won’t stop her from continuing her mission with the support of the community.
“We will not be silenced or go away quietly,” she wrote. “Our stories matter, and that is what we know!”
