On Tuesday evening, the National Library was the victim of a cyberattack (May 18th). According to Irena Maňáková, after the detection of an attack, the library disabled its key systems, and specialists are currently working on a safe recovery. On Wednesdays, the library will also be closed (May 19th). In response to an attack, the management filed a criminal complaint against an unidentified perpetrator. The occurrence of an attack was also announced to the National Cyber and Information Security Administration by the library.
National Library revealed on social media around noon that it had closed its doors to the public due to IT problems. Borrowed books can be returned to the library in Clementinum complex’s main courtyard. A digital archive, such as the National Digital Library, can be used by readers. The National Library is one of the country’s oldest public libraries, with the country’s largest library collection. It was established by the Ministry of Culture and located in Prague’s Clementinum.
The library serves as a general hub of the library system, managing a collection of historical and contemporary literature, totaling more than six million documents with around 70,000 new titles added each year. More than 16,000 manuscripts, including the rare Vyšehrad Code of 1086, are among them.
Health services and some authorities have recently been targeted by hackers in the Czech Republic. The number of cyberattacks in Czechia has risen by 259 percent since the beginning of the year, according to security company Check Point. The number of ransomware aimed at healthcare is the highest in the world.