Germany’s Dresden State Artwork Collections, one in every of Europe’s oldest museum networks, has been hit by a focused cyberattack that disrupted giant components of its digital infrastructure, the state of Saxony’s tradition ministry mentioned this week.
The assault, found on Wednesday, has left the museum group with restricted digital and telephone companies. On-line ticket gross sales, customer companies, and the museum store are at present unavailable, and funds at museum websites can solely be made in money. Tickets bought on-line earlier than the incident stay legitimate and may nonetheless be scanned on web site.
Regardless of the disruption, the museums stay open to guests. The tradition ministry mentioned safety methods defending the collections weren’t affected and that each bodily and technical safety stay absolutely intact.
The Dresden State Artwork Collections, referred to as SKD, mentioned it’s unclear when all affected methods will probably be absolutely restored. As of Friday, the establishment was nonetheless working underneath restrictions, with no new updates on the incident, native media reported, citing an SKD spokesperson.
Officers haven’t mentioned who carried out the assault or what their motives might have been. It is usually unclear whether or not the incident concerned a ransom demand or whether or not any negotiations with the attackers are underway.
The Dresden State Artwork Collections oversee about 15 museums, housing works by artists corresponding to Raphael and Rembrandt, in addition to the famed Inexperienced Vault, one in every of Europe’s richest treasure chambers, identified for its royal jewels and goldwork.
Cultural establishments have more and more turn into targets for cybercriminals in recent times. In 2023, Canada’s nationwide artwork museum spent weeks restoring methods after a ransomware assault, whereas in 2022 the Metropolitan Opera in New York suffered a cyberattack that disrupted ticketing and field workplace operations through the busy vacation season.
Main libraries have additionally drawn the eye of hackers, prompting U.S. officers to launch a program to assist such establishments defend themselves from cyberattacks. In 2023, ransomware crippled the methods of the British Library, one of many world’s largest and the nationwide library of the UK. In Canada, the Toronto Public Library spent months recovering from a ransomware assault, describing the incident as a “crime scene.”
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