Comic distributor warns of more delays as ransomware attack persists

The ransomware attack which has affected the comic book distribution chain continues to plague Diamond Comic Distributors, and after six days the company has come forward with timelines for the expected delays to comic books over the next few weeks.

The ransomware attack became known on Friday, November 5, affecting the company's main website (www.DiamondComics.com), its email system, some parts of its ordering infrastructure, and other unnamed areas. While no longer the comic book industry's main distributor, Diamond remains a key primary (and in the case of DC and Marvel, secondary) distributor for comic books to comic shops, bookstores, and online booksellers like Amazon. 

As of November 11, Diamond says it did manage to ship some of the comic books planned for release on November 9 and 10, and the orders that were delayed should be arriving at comic book shops and bookstores by Sunday, November 14 at the latest.

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Meanwhile, the next major round of shipments - for books with a November 16/17 on-sale date - are currently being "picked and packed" at Diamond's warehouses. The distributor doesn't say whether those could also be delayed, but says it'll inform stores about expected delivery dates "early next week", as in November 15 or 16.

For the time being, Diamond has paused on processing any re-orders from comic book shops and bookstores, but expects to be able to by Saturday, November 13.

Due to their main website continuing to be offline, Diamond has set up a new website (www.DiamondComicsUpdates.com) to update the public directly about these continued issues. 

Since much of Diamond's email system has been compromised, Diamond is using a third-party email system set-up with the email marketing company AWeber.

Throughout this process, Diamond continues attempts to mitigate the ransomware attack and regain access to their systems, in tandem with the technology solutions company Agility Recovery Solutions as well as unnamed law enforcement agencies.

Until the ransomware attacks are fully resolved and Diamond's systems are fully functional again, Newsarama recommends you check with your local store about new comics availability before you make the trip.

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