British Library Seeks Security Following Catastrophic Cyberattack

The British Library is currently looking to restore its operations after a crippling cyberattack in 2023. In October of last year, the ransomware group Rhysida targeted the Library, disrupting its computer networks, phone lines and WiFi services for nearly a month. When the Library refused to meet the Bitcoin ransom demands, Rhysida retaliated by leaking close to 500,000 files on the dark web, making them accessible to the public.

"One of the most severe cyber crises in British history." - Ciaran Martin, former head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) 

Nearly a year on, the British Library unveiled plans to strengthen its cyber defences. At the forefront is phase 1 of the Library's Web Foundations project, at a cost of £400,000 which aims to replace the current temporary website, facilitate rapid scalability and create a platform that is durable, secure and lay the groundwork for future expansion and integration with the Library's backend systems in subsequent phases.

The temporary website, which the Library introduced in December 2023, lacks a content management system and both the physical and digital archives remain inaccessible. The Web Foundations project is expected to address these shortcomings comprehensively.

In July of this year, British Library CEO Roly Keating reflected on the ongoing challenges: "The time it is taking us to bring our services back is an exact measure of the destructiveness of the original attack, which directly targeted our core computing infrastructure.”

"Alongside the comprehensive rebuild of those systems, a process that would normally be scheduled over years rather than months. We have also been scanning our vast array of datasets to ensure that no malware or viruses have been left by the attackers.

"To date we have scanned more than 6 billion files and have, thankfully, been able to give all of them a clean bill of health. This painstaking process takes time, but we are continuing to follow a 'safety first' approach as you might expect after the experience of such a devastating attack."

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

At PSP Agile IT, we understand the complexities and challenges of both cybersecurity threats. With over 16 years of experience and a team of 34 in-house IT experts, we are uniquely positioned to help your organisation navigate these challenges, so let's talk.