Ex-employee sabotages IT: British Museum forced to close temporary exhibitions
A frustrated ex-employee allegedly broke into the British Museum and damaged the IT there. This had consequences for the exhibitions.
(Image: Shutterstock.com/Claudio Divizia)
A disgruntled ex-employee damaged the IT systems at the British Museum last week, preventing parts of the world-famous institution from reopening until the weekend. This was reported by The Register, citing the British Museum itself. “An IT contractor who was sacked last week broke into the museum and shut down several of our systems,” the IT magazine quotes a spokesperson as saying. The person was arrested on site, but the damage was not repaired over the weekend. All temporary exhibitions were therefore closed at least until the weekend.
Most popular attraction not only in London
The museum would not comment on how exactly the man was able to break in and what damage he had caused. The police said that they were called to the museum late on Thursday evening because a man was damaging security and IT systems. The 50-year-old man was arrested on site and is being investigated on suspicion of burglary and damage to property. He has since been released on bail. However, the police have not provided any further information as to how exactly the man gained access to the IT systems and damaged them.
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The British Museum is not only one of the most popular attractions in London, but is also one of the most famous museums in the world. It claims to house over eight million exhibits from all over the world under one roof. In 2023, it had over 5.8 million visitors, more than any other tourist destination in the UK. The temporary exhibitions that have now been affected by the closures are about the Silk Roads, the artist Hew Locke and prints by Pablo Picasso. Notices of the closures have now disappeared from the museum's website, but interested parties are warned that exhibitions may be closed to visits at short notice.
(mho)
