Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Technology
Edward Helmore in New York

Christie’s website hack shows how art world has become target for cybercrime

a person holds watches
A Christie’s employee holds watches ahead of an auction in London on 26 September 2022. Photograph: Niklas Halle’n/AFP/Getty Images

A ransomware hack was the last thing the precarious fine art market needed – but that’s what it got when Christie’s website went down days before it began its all-important 20th and 21st century May auctions in New York.

Guillaume Cerutti, CEO of the French-owned auctioneer, gently called the attack a “technology security incident”. Christie’s posted its auction catalogs on a separate site, the sale went ahead with sales of $640m, and 10 days later the website came back to life.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.