back to article 'Cyberattack' shutters Christie's website days before $840M art mega-auction

Christie's website remains offline as of Monday after a "technology security issue" shut it down Thursday night – just days before the venerable auction house planned to flog $840 million of art. As of Friday morning and still today, Christie's redirects visitors to a temporary website, reportedly due to a cyberattack. It's …

  1. Snowy Silver badge
    Coat

    Locked down

    According to US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly, the only way to make cyberattacks, including ransomware infections, a "shocking anomaly," is by holding technology makers — not end users — accountable for making their products more secure. ®

    The only way that could work is if computers where more locked down that the iPhone. Intall only from the company store, run nothing they do not want you to or view any web site they do not deem to be safe.

  2. Tron Silver badge

    Those at fault are culpable.

    Sometimes that is the technology maker. More often it is the end user. In cases of hacks and malware it is the criminal. Victim blaming is tacky and unpleasant. Hold people responsible for what is their fault. Vicarious atonement to manipulate tech is not a solution.

    If threatened by US government agencies, technology makers could withdraw their products from the US market until the threat is withdrawn. I'm sure America could function happily without tech for a bit.

    1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      Re: Those at fault are culpable.

      Yes. How can one expect a person with no expertise in every detail of a system reasonably to be responsible for its security? Particularly for commodity items like phones, tablets, or laptop?

      As I've said before, we need a wider pool of applications and of OSes. And most importantly, common data exchange formats that actually work between both applications and OSes.

      All pigs fueled up and waiting on the taxi-way...

  3. Mike 137 Silver badge

    Whose responsibility?

    "These physical addresses — which could guide would-be thieves to the buildings where the art resided — were publicly available to anyone online via the Christie's website, which had failed to strip out this location metadata from submitted snaps."

    Was it really the responsibility of Christies to cover sellers for their own lack of foresight in submitting images containing their GPS coordinates?

    1. tiggity Silver badge

      Re: Whose responsibility?

      Agree, it's hard to know whose responsibility it is - though lots of people may be unaware of that GPS possibility (I'm fortunate that my digital camera is relatively unusual as it does not have inbuilt GPS so don't have to worry about stripping out such data - though occasions when I regret it does not have GPS as would let me more accurately describe locations of some of my wildlife photos).

      Maybe the next thing on the horizon to protect sellers is demanding use of "AI" to manipulate images to remove any hint of photographer from reflective surfaces in items such as mirrors etc.*

      * Not sure if it's still a thing but years ago people used to enjoy posting links to eBay auctions where seller** was visible in kettles, mirrors etc.

      ** Where seller was in a state of partial / full undress when taking the photo

  4. tiggity Silver badge

    Marketing Teams

    "Our marketing teams have designed and built a new website environment"

    Maybe customers would be more reassured if security and development team had "designed and built a new website environment", rather than the marketing teams.

    ... Yes, I'm aware it may be poor terminology on their part and the marketing teams may include security & development expertise, but nothing shouts Run Away! .. as most people thing sales / PR when they hear the word marketing (I'm aware of possibility that marketing may have some niche different meaning in auctioneering, but just reads so scarily to someone who is not an auction expert).

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