UK’s cultural institutions failing on cyber security, warns PAC
UK’s cultural institutions failing on cyber security, warns PAC
Publish Date: 2026-06-24 13:02:00
Source Domain: www.computerweekly.com
Britain’s national museums and galleries are highly vulnerable to cyber threats and by-and-large, have failed to heed the prescient warnings from the 2023 British Library ransomware attack, putting the country’s wider cultural and historical assets at risk, says the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The British Library won praise for its transparency in the wake of the Rhysida ransomware attack, however in a new report on the state of the finances of government-sponsored institutions – published on 24 June – the PAC said that the government was still relying on a reactive, rather than proactive approach, to both the cyber and physical security of valuable collections.
It said that while Westminster had done well to disseminate lessons from the British Library attack, and incidents at the British Museum, it was not able to provide any specific examples of concrete actions taken by the sector to better protect itself.
The PAC said the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) was not taking proper advantage of its central role to facilitate information-sharing and help museums and galleries collectively address their issues.
It is now asking the department to set out actions it has and will take to address security threats – such as better implementation of digital record keeping – to safeguard the UK’s museums and galleries, which draw millions of visitors and generated £563m in income in 2024-25.
PAC chair Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said: “Our museums and galleries are a treasured part of the fabric of our nation. The role they play in educating our people, preserving our shared history and showcasing our country to the world is quite simply priceless.
“However, they are being let down by a lack of leadership from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which appears to have taken an almost hands-off approach to the challenges they face.
“Cyber attacks, the theft of items from collections, and a fall in the number of visitors…
