National Gallery of Canada recovering from a ransomware attack

The National Gallery of Canada, one of North America’s major art institutions by display space, has spent the last two weeks recovering from a ransomware attack that forced the shutdown of its IT system.

On April 23, the art museum identified the hack and attempted to isolate the vulnerable networks. It commissioned a forensic study from a cybersecurity firm. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is also helping with the recovery. No ransomware gang has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to Interim Director & CEO Angela Cassie, the current focus is protecting personal or sensitive information and ensuring the Gallery’s safety. She stated that no client data was stolen but that "some operational data has been lost."

The Ottawa-based institution is still open to the public, but many employees work remotely as servers are rebuilt and access is gradually restored. On Tuesday morning, the art museum emailed its members to explain that their payment systems were unaffected and did not store full credit or debit card numbers.

All members can still visit onsite, any memberships that expired in April will be honored until the issue is resolved, and all promotions will be honored and extended, according to the email.