Paris: Following the audacious daylight robbery of $102 million in artifacts from the Louvre Museum in just seven minutes, investigators have unveiled a startling finding that raises serious concerns about the institution’s security infrastructure. It was discovered that the password for the museum’s security system was the common and easily guessed word: ‘Louvre.’
According to foreign media reports, investigators exposed a fundamental flaw in the museum’s digital defence system. France’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI), while probing the ‘biggest heist of the century’ that occurred on October 19, revealed the museum’s alarmingly weak security protocols.
Confidential documents obtained by the Liberation outlet revealed that the agency’s experts were able to access the museum’s video surveillance servers simply by using the password ‘Louvre.’ Most concerningly, this security vulnerability was first identified during an audit conducted way back in 2014.
The 2014 audit report highlighted other grave shortcomings in the museum’s cyber security system, including its reliance on two-decades-old software to protect crucial safety systems. The report warned that anyone gaining access to this simple password could potentially launch an attack on the museum, damage artwork, and commit theft.
It remains unclear whether the Louvre Museum administration updated the password or its system following the warnings issued in 2014. Nevertheless, the report’s release has triggered a wave of social media memes, with users widely questioning the intelligence of the security personnel for using such an extremely basic password at a world-renowned institution.
