Uffizi Gallery Refutes Claims of Cyber Attack and Ransom in Florence

Florence's Uffizi Gallery denies reports of a major cyber security breach, countering allegations of stolen security maps and ransom demands with claims of planned renovations and server backups.

However, a report in Reuters numerous hours after the Correre della Sera news appeared cites a declaration from the museum discussing that while the Uffizi was undoubtedly targeted in a cyber assault on Feb. 1, nothing was taken and the cyberpunks did not in fact get security maps of the museum or employees’ personal get in touch with info.

In reaction to these allegations, the gallery stated that the closure and the removal of the gems were both in anticipation of a prepared renovation of the Pitti Palance, in the jobs considering that last fall. The Pitti Royal residence did reveal a renovation plan in July 2025, however, this was for areas on the second and initial floors, whereas the Treasury of the Grand Dukes is on the Palace’s very beginning and mezzanine.

Conflicting Reports on Museum Security

Corriere della Serra pointed to numerous abrupt modifications at the museum as proof of the assault, particularly pertaining to the Pitti Royal residence, which is part of the Gallerie deglie Uffizi complex. (The Boboli Gardens are too.).

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, home to among the world’s most widely known collections of Italian Renaissance art, is denying a report that a recent cyber attack provided hackers “access everywhere” in the gallery.

Security Vulnerabilities and Ransom Claims

The paper cites a source that explained that the hackers penetrated the Uffizi’s IT system via out-of-date software that handled the low-resolution pictures on the gallery’s web site. The museum underplayed this, rejecting that the cyberpunks accessed safety and security information or maps, and discussing that they have a complete backup of the jeopardized photo web server.

The article, released on Apr. 3 in the Italian day-to-day paper Correre della Sera, claimed that the hackers infiltrated the museum complex’s IT network, demanded a ransom money directly from museum director Simone Verde, and threatened to market info stolen from the Uffizi’s web servers on the dark web.

Jewel Relocation and Potential Data Loss

Notably, an area of the Pitti Royal residence was shut till additional notification, beginning on Feb. 3 (2 days after the breach) and jewels from the Treasury of the Grand Dukes (a collection of decorative arts that once came from the Medici Family and is currently housed at the Pitti Royal Residence) were “hastily” eliminated to a safe at the Financial institution of Italy. Maybe most suspiciously, museum employees “were strictly advised not to take a breath a word about it.”.

The write-up also asserts that the Uffizi’s servers were “wiped clean,” and that an archive of pictures and records was lost. Perhaps most worrying, given the uptick in gallery break-ins, is that the cyberpunks were able to extract information regarding gallery entry codes, passwords, alarm and “even accurate places of security cameras and sensors.”.