British Museum ‘running as normal’ again after alleged IT attack

The British Museum has fully reopened its exhibitions and facilities after a shutdown of its IT infrastructure caused significant disruption last week.

A man in his fifties was arrested on suspicion of burglary and criminal damage on Thursday 23 January after allegedly trespassing into a restricted area of the museum and shutting down several core IT systems.

The man, a contractor who had recently been dismissed from the institution, has been bailed pending further enquiries.

The disruption to its IT systems meant the museum had a limited visitor offer over the weekend, with temporary exhibitions closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and around half of its permanent galleries closed on Friday and Saturday.

These have all since reopened and the museum is now "running as normal", according to a spokesman.

Ticketholders have been offered refunds following the incident.

The British Museum said in a statement: “An IT contractor who was dismissed last week trespassed into the museum and shut down several of our systems. Police attended and he was arrested at the scene.

“With regret our temporary exhibitions were closed over the weekend – ticket holders were alerted and refunds offered.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "Police were called on Thursday 23 January at 20.25 to reports that a man had entered the British Museum and caused damage to the museum's security and IT systems.

"Police swiftly attended and arrested a man in his fifties at the scene on suspicion of burglary and criminal damage. He has been bailed pending further enquiries."

Temporary exhibitions currently on at the museum include Silk Roads, which presents objects from regions and cultures along the ancient East to West trade routes; Hew Locke: What Have We Here, a collaborative exhibition curated by the British-Guyanese artist exploring histories of British imperial power; and Picasso: Printmaker, which examines the artist’s engagement with different printmaking techniques.

It is the second time an insider has appeared to target the British Museum in recent years, following the alleged theft of thousands of Greek and Roman objects by a former curator.

The incident comes at a time when museums and galleries are on high alert for cyber and IT-related crime after a series of ransomware attacks by criminal gangs. A recent report by IBM found that, although rarer than other types of cyber crime, data breaches by “malicious insiders” often incurred the highest costs compared to other vectors.