The British Library: Cyber Attack

This week I was checking links in our Philatelic Resources, Societies and Clubs links at the bottom of our webpage. 

Sadly, the Ship Stamp Club has closed. But more worrying is that The British Library, which was hit by a cyber attack in November 2023, is still suffering major system disruption. As a result our link to their informative Philately section is not working and directs visitors to a temporary page.

The British Library link has been retained in our list in the hope that their systems will be back online at some point this year. It is a timely reminder to us all to take sensible precautions with our login and security details at all times, even when we are engaged with our philatelic interests.

The British Library states; 

"We're continuing to experience a major technology outage as a result of a cyber-attack. The outage is still affecting our website, online systems and services, as well as some onsite services, however our buildings are still open as usual.

We anticipate restoring more services over the coming months, but disruption to certain services is expected to persist for longer...

We have...[published a paper] about the attack. Its goal is to share our understanding of what happened and to help others learn from our experience.

In November the attackers released some of our data onto the dark web including some personal user information. We've contacted our users to alert them to this incident and to offer advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on how to protect themselves, including updating their passwords on other systems.

Because our systems are still unavailable, you can't change the password for our services. However, if you use the same password for non-British Library services, we recommend that you change it as a precaution.

The NCSC offers advice on staying secure online, including how to create a strong password, as well as specific guidance for individuals who may have been impacted by a data breach.

Analysing the data is likely to take several months. Should we find specific information has been compromised, we will alert anyone affected as soon as we can. We are continuing to collaborate with the Metropolitan Police and professional cybersecurity advisors, and are receiving support from the NCSC...

We're really sorry for the ongoing disruption to our systems and services and we'll provide further updates when we can. Thank you for bearing with us during this ongoing investigation."

Be careful out there...

Postmaster

Spring Heralds New Stamps!

Spring is finally here! That means new stamp issues are being prepared for release to the wild in the coming months! I cannot "spill the beans" as to what our stamp schedule for 2024 looks like just yet, but it will include some great topical themes and local history. 

Our Aviation Series continues with a new stamp of an aircraft from 1962 that will be instantly recognisable. Plus the 80th Anniversary of D-Day 1944 will be commemorated, and historical transport and maritime history will feature in two other issues.

Rejected D-Day 80th Anniversary stamp design

The full 2024 schedule will be published as soon as the finished stamps have been received from our printer. Whilst we wait, designs for 2025 are well under way, including a new commemorative series featuring famous musicians that were born, lived, or sadly died on Canvey Island. We also plan a definitive series of notable Islanders throughout history, and there are some surprises!

Until next time...

Postmaster

Online and Printed Catalogues Update

 Updates of our illustrated Online Catalogue pages will be suspended from 20 February 2024. Current data in the public domain will remain available online but new issues will not be added to the catalogue listings until further notice. 

CILP has taken this decision due to possible misuse by some individuals, breaching our generous Creative Commons Licence.

Also, our website format and hosting limitations may restrict our ability to expand and accommodate the catalogue in its current format in future. A slimmed-down or 'light' version of the catalogue is being evaluated.

However, our Collector Checklist will be updated for new stamp issues and released as normal under our existing Creative Commons Licence.

A new illustrated and comprehensive printed catalogue covering all cinderella material relating to CILP since its foundation, is being prepared for publication. The First Edition of the CILPDEX catalogue will be available later this year and will be for sale worldwide online from our agent, Alpha Thematics. 

Visit the Canvey Island Local Post Category in the Alpha Thematics shop!

Postmaster 

CILP on Alpha Thematics Refreshed!

Regular visitors to this site and collectors of CILP stamps will be familiar with our philatelic agent, Alpha Thematics on Ebid UK.

The good news is that CILP now has its own category in the Alpha Thematics shop, so you will no longer have to search through all the "Local Posts" category to find our stamps.

Amy Johnson (CP064 5-Jan-2024)

Even better news is that all our listings have been refreshed and many prices reduced! 

We also have introduced a range of full year stamp lots to kick-off a new collection, or fill missing years from existing collections. All available stamp issues are still listed for single purchases.

Visit the Canvey Island Local Post Category in Alpha Thematics shop!

Postmaster