Dresden State Art Collections, Metropolitan Opera and British Library: Cyberattack disrupts digital systems at renowned Dresden museum network

Cyberattack Disrupts Germany’s Dresden State Art Collections

Germany’s Dresden State Art Collections (SKD), one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious museum networks, has fallen victim to a targeted cyberattack, severely disrupting its digital operations. The incident, detected on Wednesday, has crippled online ticket sales, visitor services, and the museum shop, forcing cash-only payments at physical locations. While pre-purchased tickets remain valid, the full restoration timeline remains uncertain.

Despite the outage, the museums home to masterpieces by Raphael, Rembrandt, and the famed Green Vault’s royal treasures remain open to the public. Authorities confirmed that security systems protecting the collections were unaffected, with no compromise to physical or technical safeguards.

As of Friday, officials had not disclosed the attackers’ identities, motives, or whether a ransom demand was involved. The SKD continues to operate under restrictions, with no further updates on the investigation.

The attack underscores a growing trend of cyber threats targeting cultural institutions. In 2023 alone, Canada’s national art museum and the British Library faced prolonged disruptions from ransomware, while the Metropolitan Opera in New York suffered a holiday-season cyberattack in 2022. The incident at Dresden adds to a rising wave of cybercrime against museums, libraries, and heritage sites worldwide.

Source: https://therecord.media/dresden-state-art-collections-cyberattack

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/staatliche-kunstsammlungen-dresden

The Metropolitan Museum of Art cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/the-metropolitan-museum-of-art

The British Museum cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/the-british-museum

"id": "STATHETHE1769181734",
"linkid": "staatliche-kunstsammlungen-dresden, the-metropolitan-museum-of-art, the-british-museum",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "6/2022",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Cultural institution',
                        'location': 'Dresden, Germany',
                        'name': 'Dresden State Art Collections (SKD)',
                        'type': 'Museum network'}],
 'customer_advisories': 'Pre-purchased tickets remain valid; museums remain '
                        'open to the public',
 'date_detected': '2023-10-18',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2023-10-20',
 'description': 'Germany’s Dresden State Art Collections (SKD), one of '
                'Europe’s oldest and most prestigious museum networks, has '
                'fallen victim to a targeted cyberattack, severely disrupting '
                'its digital operations. The incident has crippled online '
                'ticket sales, visitor services, and the museum shop, forcing '
                'cash-only payments at physical locations. While pre-purchased '
                'tickets remain valid, the full restoration timeline remains '
                'uncertain.',
 'impact': {'operational_impact': 'Severe disruption to digital operations; '
                                  'cash-only payments at physical locations',
            'systems_affected': ['online ticket sales',
                                 'visitor services',
                                 'museum shop']},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2023-10-20',
                 'source': 'Cyber incident description'}],
 'title': 'Cyberattack Disrupts Germany’s Dresden State Art Collections',
 'type': 'Cyberattack'}