Italy's famed Uffizi admits cyber-attack but denies security breach

The Uffizi Galleries in Florence have confirmed they were subject to a cyber-attack - but denied that the security systems protecting their famous works had been compromised. The Uffizi stressed that nothing had been either damaged or stolen, after hackers were reported to have infiltrated the museum's IT systems and accessed sensitive security data. Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that hackers had infiltrated the museums' IT systems, allegedly extracting access codes, internal maps and the locations of CCTV cameras and alarms, before issuing a ransom demand. But the Uffizi contested this account, saying its security systems were inaccessible from the outside. The attackers appeared to have moved through interconnected systems, computers and phones, gradually piecing together a detailed picture of the museum's operations, Corriere reported. A ransom demand was later sent to museum director Simone Verde's personal phone, the newspaper said, with a threat to sell the data on the dark web. The Uffizi is home to some of Italy's most celebrated artworks, such as Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera. Corriere said the cyber-attack occurred between late January and ear