Hell hath no fury like a fired employee who has access to your IT systems. That isn’t an actual historical adage but it’s one that certainly holds true. Remember what Dennis Nedry did to the park systems in “Jurassic Park?”
The British Museum found themselves in their own system shutdown though when a fired employee decided to come back into the workplace, wreck the IT systems, and cause a partial shutdown of the museum.
On January 23rd, police were called to The British Museum. They arrested a man in this 50s. He reportedly caused damage to the IT and security systems in the building. This ended up closing some exhibits. Being this is the largest tourist attraction in England, it was more than just a mild inconvenience. The man was arrested on suspicion of burglary and criminal damage.
The alleged culprit was a former IT contractor who was fired the week prior. Apparently, the location is not a stranger to illegal happenings. Former curator Peter Higgs was accused of stealing and selling over 1,800 objects. He was fired in July of 2023.
“The Museum is open, but due to an IT infrastructure issue some galleries have had to be closed,” the museum’s official website states. “Please note that this means capacity will be limited, and priority will be given to Members and pre-booked ticketholders. Our ‘Silk Roads’ and ‘Hew Locke: what have we here’ exhibitions remain closed. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.”
The site is offering options for refunds but have not stated when full service will be restored.
