The British Library, the UK’s largest library and one of the world’s leading cultural institutions, has restored its main online catalogue after a devastating cyber attack last year.
The catalogue, which contains more than 36 million records of books, journals, maps, music and other items, was offline for more than two months following the hack on 31 October 2023.
The library said the catalogue was now available in a “read-only” mode, meaning users could search for items but not order them or check their availability.
The library’s chief executive, Sir Roly Keating, said this was the first significant step in the complete recovery of services for researchers and the public.
He said the library was working hard to restore full functionality and access to its other digital collections and special collections, which include rare and unique materials.
He also said the library was learning from the incident and would share its findings and recommendations in the coming months.
The cyber attack, which was claimed by the Rhysida ransomware group, also resulted in the leak of some employee data and customer data on the dark web.
The library said it had notified the affected individuals and taken steps to protect their privacy and security.
Sir Roly apologised for the disruption and inconvenience caused by the attack and thanked the library staff and partners for their efforts and resilience.
He also said the library did not pay any ransom to the hackers, as it was against its principles and values as a public institution.
He said the library was determined to overcome the challenges and continue to provide its world-class services and collections to the public.
