Cyber-attack on French museums during the Olympics

French authorities have announced that a ransomware attack was launched on the Grand Palais and other Parisian museums, including the Louvre, on the night of August 3-4, 2024.
The hacker attack, discovered by the director of IT systems at the Grand Palais, was aimed particularly at the IT systems that centralize the financial data of French museums. The hackers’ objective has been defined as a double-trigger blackmail strategy, namely the sale of the decryption key to the Grand Palais in exchange for a ransom and the threat of publication or sale of the encrypted data if the ransom is not paid within 48 hours.
French authorities have opened an investigation into the hacker attack, entrusting it to the Brigade for the fight against cybercrime (BL2C). The inquiry will focus mainly on discovering which group of hackers is responsible and blocking the dissemination of encrypted data on the dark web.
Finally, ANSSI, responsible for the IT security of the Olympic Games, was also involved in keeping IT security high against possible hacker attacks.