British Library cyberattack

In October 2023 Rhysida, a hacker group, attacked the online information systems of the British Library. They demanded a ransom of 20 bitcoin, at the time around £596,000, to restore services and return the stolen data. When the British Library did not acquiesce to the attempt, Rhysida publicly released approximately 600GB of leaked material online. It has been described as "one of the worst cyber incidents in British history".

The main catalogue returned online on 15 January 2024 in a read-only format, though some of the library's services are expected to remain unavailable for months. The British Library will use about 40 percent of its financial reserves, around £6–7 million, to recover from the attack.