The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, residence to one of many world’s most well-known collections of Italian Renaissance artwork, is denying a report {that a} latest cyber assault gave hackers “entry all over the place” within the museum.
The article, printed on Apr. 3 within the Italian each day newspaper Correre della Sera, stated that the hackers infiltrated the museum advanced’s IT community, demanded a ransom straight from museum director Simone Verde, and threatened to promote data stolen from the Uffizi’s servers on the darkish internet.
Nevertheless, a report in Reuters a number of hours after the Correre della Sera information got here out cites an announcement from the museum explaining that whereas the Uffizi was certainly focused in a cyber assault on Feb. 1, nothing was stolen and the hackers didn’t the truth is purchase safety maps of the museum or staff’ private contact data.
Corriere della Serra pointed to a number of sudden adjustments on the museum as proof of the assault, particularly associated to the Pitti Palace, which is a part of the Gallerie deglie Uffizi advanced. (The Boboli Gardens are as nicely.)
Notably, a piece of the Pitti Palace was closed till additional discover, beginning on Feb. 3 (two days after the breach) and jewels from the Treasury of the Grand Dukes (a set of ornamental arts that after belonged to the Medici Household and is now housed on the Pitti Palace) have been “rapidly” eliminated to a vault on the Financial institution of Italy. Maybe most suspiciously, museum staff “have been strictly instructed to not breathe a phrase about it.”
In response to those accusations, the museum stated that the closure and the elimination of the jewels have been each in anticipation of a deliberate renovation of the Pitti Palance, within the works since final fall. The Pitti Palace did announce a renovation plan in July 2025, nevertheless, this was for areas on the primary and second flooring, whereas the Treasury of the Grand Dukes is on the Palace’s floor flooring and mezzanine.
The article additionally claims that the Uffizi’s servers have been “cleaned,” and that an archive of images and paperwork was misplaced. Maybe most regarding, given the uptick in museum heists, is that the hackers have been in a position to extract details about museum entry codes, passwords, alarm techniques and “even exact places of surveillance cameras and sensors.”
The newspaper cites a supply who defined that the hackers infiltrated the Uffizi’s IT system through outdated software program that managed the low-resolution photos on the museum’s web site. The museum underplayed this, denying that the hackers accessed safety data or maps, and explaining that they’ve a full backup of the compromised photograph server.
The Uffizi stays open to the general public, the place artworks by Raphael, Caravaggio, Gentileschi, Titian, Leonardo, Boticelli, and plenty of different Italian masters are on view.
