Uffizi Museum in Florence Denies Severity of Security Breaches Resulting From February Cyber Attack
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence denied claims that a February 1 cyber attack gave hackers sweeping access to its systems, after Corriere della Sera reported on April 3 that attackers demanded a ransom from director Simone Verde and threatened to sell stolen data on the dark web. Reuters later cited a museum statement saying nothing was stolen and that hackers did not obtain security maps or employees’ personal contact information. Corriere linked the incident to a February 3 closure of part of the Pitti Palace and the removal of jewels from the Treasury of the Grand Dukes to a Bank of Italy vault, but the museum said both actions were tied to a renovation planned since last fall. The newspaper also alleged servers were wiped and security details extracted via outdated software managing low-resolution website images, while the Uffizi said it had a full backup of the compromised photo server and remains open to the public.
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This story was covered in Museums Under Siege, Auctions Breaking Records