British Library Details

British Library

London, United Kingdom • 1500 employees • Public Administration

https://www.bl.uk/

Industry

Public Administration

Security Incidents

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the largest libraries in the world. It was officially established by the British Library Act 1972 and opened in 1973, bringing together collections previously held by the British Museum and several other national institutions. The library's primary purpose is to collect, preserve, and provide access to a vast array of knowledge resources, including books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, prints, drawings, and electronic resources. The British Library's collection surpasses 170 millio...
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Security Incidents

British Library Breach of Oct 2023

Severity Score

High

Type

Unknown

Summary

In October 2023, the British Library fell victim to a major cyberattack orchestrated by the Rhysida hacker group. The attackers demanded a ransom of 20 bitcoin (approximately £596,000 at the time) but proceeded to release 600GB of stolen data online when the ransom was not paid. Primary access was gained through a Terminal Services server, which had been deployed without multi-factor authentication. Key data exfiltration methods included the wholesale copying of network drives, keyword searches for sensitive files, and hijacking native utilities to back up databases. Recovery efforts began swi...
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Severity

The cyberattack on the British Library by Rhysida in October 2023 was remarkably severe. With the release of approximately 600GB of sensitive data online and a ransom demand of around £596,000 in bitcoin, the impact was vast. The recovery from the attack necessitated the use of 40 percent of the library's financial reserves, totaling around £6-7 million, and some services are expected to remain offline for months. Given the sophisticated nature of the attack, involving targeted phishing and brute-force methods as well as the destruction of servers to inhibit forensic analysis, the incident can...
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Impact

In late 2023, the British Library suffered a significant ransomware attack orchestrated by the hacker group Rhysida. Although customer data exposure primarily involved internal human resources files, the personal details of Library users and staff were compromised. The attack resulted in the temporary shutdown of the Library's main catalogue and other systems, significantly impacting operations, including suspension of the fellowship program and delays in Public Lending Right payments. The financial and operational aftermath was substantial, with the Library committing approximately £6–7 milli...
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