More than a year after the initial breach, a cyber attack is still preventing a museum in Gloucester from accessing its artefact database. The Museum of Gloucester is one of the facilities that was affected when Gloucester City Council was hit by hackers in 2021.
The council has had to rebuild all its servers following the attack, which has been linked to Russian hackers and is estimated to have cost taxpayers nearly £1m.
The malware that caused the breach was embedded in an email that was sent to a council officer.
Although council officers have said that the museum’s access to the collection database is “rather fundamental”, it is unclear whether any records have been lost as a result of the attack. The database had been used to create exhibitions at the museum.
The cyber attack affected more than just the museum. Benefit payments, planning applications and house sales were all delayed due to the breach. The attack highlights the increasing threat that cybercrime poses to businesses and organisations.
It also serves as a reminder of the importance of taking measures to prevent such incidents, such as ensuring staff are trained to recognise phishing emails and that systems are regularly updated and patched to address vulnerabilities.
