Louvre used “Louvre” as password for its security network

Newly surfaced documents reviewed by the French newspaper Libération show that the Louvre’s video surveillance system was protected by the password “Louvre.”

The detail emerged in the aftermath of the October 18 heist, in which thieves stole approximately $102 million worth of crown jewels in broad daylight.

The documents trace long-standing issues in the museum’s internal security infrastructure. Audits by France’s National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI), beginning as early as 2014, identified multiple vulnerabilities across the network.

Investigators noted that key components of the surveillance system continued to run on Windows Server 2003, software that has not received security updates for over a decade. Later assessments described “serious shortcomings” in camera management and access control, alongside a reliance on outdated IT infrastructure.

These findings have led experts to suggest that the high-profile theft may have been enabled not only by the planning of the perpetrators, but by avoidable technical negligence. The incident has raised urgent questions about the cybersecurity standards applied to major cultural institutions.

The Louvre has not publicly commented on the report.