Hackers have executed a cyberattack on a Paris 2024 Olympics venue as well as dozens of museum shops in France—and have reportedly demanded a ransom to be paid in cryptocurrency.
The cyberattackers exploited roughly 40 French tourist venues’ data processing systems last weekend, enabling them to collect sensitive financial data from the sites, French newspaper Le Parisien reported late Monday. Among the venues targeted was the Grand Palais museum, which is hosting martial arts and fencing events for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The group of hackers, whose identities are unknown, have threatened to leak the tourist sites’ financial data unless a crypto ransom is paid, according to French media.
The price of the ransom—and whether or not it will be paid—remains unclear. It’s also unknown which coins the attackers have demanded payment in. The Grand Palais did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
The French Anti-Cybercrime Brigade (BL2C) is investigating the attack and ransom request, Le Parisien reported.
The attack has had no effect on Olympic Games programming, according to Parisian authorities. Meanwhile, Museum tourist shops that were targeted in the attacks are operational as of publication time.
In recent years, cyberattacks and ransom demands have increasingly plagued tourist hotspots.
Last fall, Las Vegas-based casino operator Caesars paid roughly $15 million to hackers following a ransomware attack on its systems, according to news reports. And, in January, several prominent museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston experienced outages after cyberattackers targeted the software they use to virtually display collections and manage sensitive information, the New York Times reported.
Edited by Andrew Hayward