Ransomware attack on British Library disrupts services and leaks data
The British Library was hit by a ransomware attack on 28 October 2023, disrupting its website, online catalogue, access to digital collections, and telephone and on-site services. Staff and user information and internal documents were leaked, and the Rhysida group claimed responsibility for the attack. The National Cyber Security Centre and external experts joined the investigation, and the library gradually resumed services, including restoring access to its online collections in January 2024.
Key facts
- Affected organisation
- British Library
- Incident type
- Ransomware
- Occurred / detected
- 2023-10-28
- Scale of damage
- Leak of staff and user information and internal documents; disruption of online, telephone and on-site services
- Cause / method
- Ransomware attack
- Location
- United Kingdom
Timeline
- A cyber-attack disrupted the website, online systems, and telephone and on-site services.
- The library confirmed the outage was caused by a ransomware attack and said full recovery could take weeks to months.
- Staff information and internal documents were leaked, and the Rhysida group claimed responsibility for the attack.
- The library confirmed that user information had been stolen.
- The library restored access to its online collections and began resuming digital services.
- Service restoration continued gradually after the attack.
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The summary and key facts are written by AI from related reports and may contain errors. Check the original articles and the organisation’s official statements for accurate details.