Museums left vulnerable to cyber

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is warning that national museums and galleries are being left vulnerable to a range of issues from threats from cyber security to the physical security of collections, as the Government continues to rely on a reactive, rather than a strategic approach.

A number of high-profile incidents in 2023, including both the cyber-attack at the British Library and the thefts reported at the British Museum, served to highlight the vulnerability of these institutions.

Although the Government has facilitated the sharing of lessons, it was unable to provide specific examples of concrete actions taken as a result to better protect systems and collections in the wake of these incidents.

The Committee does not believe that the DCMS is taking advantage of its central role to bring museums and galleries together to better address these issues. It finds that measures including the implementation of digital record keeping should be considered and has asked the DCMS to set out the concrete actions it and museums and galleries have taken and are taking to address cyber and physical security threats.

The UK’s national museums and galleries are among the country’s most visited attractions, with the Natural History Museum alone drawing in 7.1m visitors in 2025. In 2024-25, museum and galleries self-generated income totalled £563 million, which is a 53% real-terms increase compared to 2021-22.

Those income streams, however, are vulnerable to wider economic conditions and visitor numbers which have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, with costs also rising due higher staff costs and energy bills.

Amid these challenges, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) provided 15 government- museums and galleries with £484m in grant-in-aid funding in 2024-25. This represents a real terms reduction of 16% as emergency COVID-19 pandemic funding has now ended.

The PAC recommends that the DCMS should set out clear metrics by which it will assess museums and galleries, and what consequences there will be for those that do not meet the criteria it sets out to measure them against.

The Committee also asks the DCMS to set out the circumstances in which it would allow the financial failure of a museum or gallery, amid concerns that the current funding regime does not provide museums and galleries with sufficient incentives to support themselves financially.

The PAC asked the Government if it was considering charging visitors to museums and galleries. It told us that, while no decisions have been taken, it planned to look at the possibility of charging international visitors, as proposed by Baroness Hodge in her recent review.

Alarmingly, the DCMS was unable to paint a clear picture of whether museums and galleries are delivering value for the taxpayer with the public money it grants them.

The PAC also found the DCMS lacks the necessary insight into museums and galleries’ financial situations to give it sufficient early warning of potential financial failures, with the Department recognising that it must rely less on anecdotal evidence.

Though the steps being taken towards self-reliance are welcomed, the PAC believes that the DCMS is over-reliant on museums' and galleries' autonomy and is not taking the initiative to support them with the strategic challenges they face.

Of particular concern are the high vacancy rates across boards of trustees, with the average time taken in 2024-25 to make an appointment being 219 days, far more than the target of 90 days.

There have also been issues with the financial management capacity of these bodies due in part to a significant churn in senior financial leadership. The PAC is calling on the DCMS to report on the steps it has taken to ensure that those it appoints to board positions have the right mix of skills required to fulfil their functions effectively and the time taken to make these appointments.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “Our museums and galleries are a treasured part of the fabric of our nation. The role they play in educating our people, preserving our shared history and showcasing our country to the world is quite simply priceless.

"However, they are being let down by a lack of leadership from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which appears to have taken an almost hands-off approach to the challenges they face.

“Cyber-attacks, the theft of items from collections, and a fall in the number of visitors are just some of the issues museums and galleries are fighting to overcome.

"They’ve made great strides to become more financially resilient, however the lack of centralised support is leaving them vulnerable. Furthermore, government has not done nearly enough to provide incentives for museums and galleries to be in a position to support themselves financially.

"The Department must do more to encourage shared learning across organisations and play a more proactive role in driving value for money.”

Image: House of Commons