ROME, April 3 (Reuters) - Florence's Uffizi Galleries were hit by a serious cyberattack earlier in the year that prompted emergency measures including the transfer of valuable jewels to the Bank of
Cyberattack targeted Italy's Uffizi but nothing stolen, museum says
Details and Impact of the Uffizi Cyberattack
Initial Reports and Museum Response
ROME, April 3 (Reuters) - Florence's Uffizi Galleries said on Friday they had been hit by a cyberattack earlier this year, but denied a newspaper report that the incident caused a major security breach or theft of data.
The statement came after Corriere della Sera daily reported that the attack had emptied the Uffizi's servers and prompted the emergency transfer of valuable jewels to the Bank of Italy.
Official Statement from the Uffizi
The Uffizi said it had been targeted by a cyberattack on February 1, but added that nothing had been stolen and no information lost. It also denied that the hackers had obtained security maps or that employees' phones had been infiltrated.
Significance of the Uffizi Galleries
The Uffizi Galleries display some of Italy's most celebrated artwork, including Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and "Primavera" paintings, along with Michelangelo's "Doni Tondo".
Technical Details and Security Measures
The museum said the only disruption caused by the attack was linked to the time needed to restore backups, adding that it had released a statement about the incident after it had happened.
Corriere reported that hackers had infiltrated the network of the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, had taken control of the photographic server and sent a ransom demand to the personal phone of Uffizi director Simone Verde.
The Uffizi said a full backup of the photo server existed.
Other Security Actions and Clarifications
It also said the closure of a section of the Palazzo Pitti and subsequent removal of valuables to the Bank of Italy was tied to renovation work planned last autumn and had nothing to do with the cyberattack.
The Uffizi added that the replacement of its surveillance cameras mentioned in the article had been recommended by the police in 2024. The upgrade was accelerated after thieves last year targeted Paris' Louvre Museum, stealing jewels worth $102 million that are still missing, it added.
"The cameras had been in the process of being replaced for a year. The situation was not at all like the Louvre's. The Galleries did have cameras, but they were analogue and are now digital," the Uffizi said.
Context of Art Theft in Italy
In March, three paintings by French masters Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse were stolen from a museum in northern Italy.
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8668 euros)
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer and Silvia Ognibene; Writing by Angelo Amante; Editing by Alvise Armellini and Alison Williams)
