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The recent audacious theft of crown jewels from the Louvre Museum has unveiled a level of digital defense so elementary, it makes the simplistic security measures in video games seem almost sophisticated. Far from a sophisticated criminal mastermind, the October 18 heist, which saw an estimated $102 million in precious artifacts stolen, involved a surprisingly clumsy group of thieves who fumbled a crown and failed to ignite a diversionary fire.
Beyond the Heist: A Decade of Digital Negligence
Initial reports might suggest a stroke of criminal genius, but insights from the French newspaper Libération paint a different picture: the Louvre has allegedly been plagued by severe security oversights and glaring IT vulnerabilities for over a decade. This isn’t an isolated incident; it’s a symptom of long-standing systemic issues.
As Cass Marshall, cofounder of Rogue and former Polygon editor, humorously pointed out on Bluesky, perhaps we owe many video game developers an apology. For years, players have mocked game characters for leaving vital security codes and vault combinations openly accessible. Yet, in reality, one of the world’s most renowned cultural institutions was reportedly using “Louvre” as the password for its video surveillance servers.
It’s not an exaggeration. Confidential documents reviewed by Libération outline a concerning history of the Louvre’s security weaknesses, tracing back to a critical cybersecurity audit in 2014.
Critical Audits and ‘Trivial’ Passwords
Commissioned by the museum itself, a 2014 cybersecurity audit conducted by the French Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) uncovered significant flaws. ANSSI experts were reportedly able to penetrate the Louvre’s security network, gaining the ability to manipulate video surveillance and alter badge access permissions. The primary culprit? Incredibly weak passwords.
Brice Le Borgne of Libération, via machine translation, described these passwords as “trivial.” For instance, simply typing “LOUVRE” granted access to a server managing the museum’s video surveillance. Similarly, “THALES” was the password for software published by the company Thales. These revelations highlight a fundamental lack of operational security (opsec) that would be considered amateurish in any modern enterprise.
The concerns didn’t end there. In 2015, the museum sought another comprehensive audit from France’s National Institute for Advanced Studies in Security and Justice. Concluding two years later, the 40-page report detailed “serious shortcomings,” including:
- Poorly managed visitor flow
- Rooftops easily accessible during ongoing construction work
- Outdated and malfunctioning security systems
Further compounding the issue, later documents indicated that as recently as 2025 (as per original reports), the Louvre was still utilizing security software acquired in 2003. This legacy system, no longer supported by its developer, was running on hardware powered by Windows Server 2003, a decade past its end-of-life support. Such an outdated infrastructure presents a massive attack surface for cybercriminals.
Rethinking Real-World Heists and Digital Security
When the guardians of France’s priceless crown jewels rely on digital defenses that are decades out of date and secured by default or trivial passwords, it forces a re-evaluation of our perceptions. The absurdity often depicted in fictional heists – characters finding vault combinations on post-it notes or exploiting simple hacking mini-games – suddenly seems far less outlandish.
The Louvre’s security saga is a stark reminder that even the most prestigious institutions can harbor critical IT vulnerabilities. This incident underscores the urgent need for robust cybersecurity practices, regular audits, and the timely updating of digital infrastructure. Perhaps, heists aren’t as difficult as we once believed, especially when basic security hygiene is neglected.