Issue Specialised cybersecurity for libraries, museums and archives

Summary

Libraries, museums and archives hold collections that cannot be replaced, and a major cyberattack shows how exposed they are. After an attack in 2023, the British Library needed 11 weeks to restore its main online catalogue, which holds 36 million records of printed and rare books, maps and journals. More than two years later, as of December 2025, it had still not fully recovered. The incident cost the library $9.4 million, roughly 40% of its reserves. Although the case came before automated cybersecurity became widespread, Dubai Future Foundation argues that cultural institutions need access to specialised security designed to protect irreplaceable digital collections and ageing legacy systems.