The British Library in London has been likened to an intimidating fortress due to its minimalist design from the 1980s. The October ransomware that attacked it looked scary, but that wasn’t enough to stop the perpetrators.
Among the most disastrous events to impact a British public institution, the illustrious establishment faced several problems. The site fell down, email stopped working, Wi-Fi stopped working, and the virtual library stopped being available to users.
The online catalog unexpectedly relaunched on January 15, 2024, after days and months of disruption.
For many of our regulars, the current state of affairs feels like stepping back in time.
The organization ran into problems when they had to utilize pen and paper. They are famous for receiving 1.5 million tourists every year. Everyday tasks, such as the present-day operation of store tills, were affected.
You would anticipate some peace and quiet in a library,” a journalist said after making their way through the desolate bunkers and roadways. But not by much.
Ransom of £600,000 ($750,000) was requested by the Rhysida gang in order to prevent data spillage and surrender encryption keys. System repair is estimated to cost around £7 million, or over $9 million, and will take place over the course of many months.
Ignoring the overwhelming demand, the British Library opted to go on a drawn-out recovery process instead of paying. Ultimately, the criminals exposed a 600GB memory containing sensitive data, including personal credit card numbers.
Important National Infrastructure: A Definitive Framework
In a statement issued in December, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) brought attention to the challenges encountered by the British Library. According to the assessment, crucial national infrastructure (CNI) might be disrupted by a major catastrophe.
Experts warn that the government might lose billions of pounds due to additional expenses and long-term power disruptions in the event of a disturbance to the power infrastructure in London and the South East of England.
An increasing number of malware groups are being used as proxies by the Russian government, which is adding to the Committee’s challenges.
Given the increasing reliance on systems and automation in countries like the UK, the Committee suggests allocating resources towards cyber-resilience.
The digitization of processes has the dual benefit of increasing efficiency and speed but simultaneously exposing nations to new, sometimes undetected vulnerabilities.
It just takes seconds for con artists to get their hands on priceless artifacts like the Magna Carta or the unreleased Beatles recordings, as the British Library incident shows.
