British Library employee data leaked in cyber attack also resulted in the library’s website being down for almost a month.

A ransomware group named Rhysida claims responsibility for the attack, and says it will auction off the stolen data.

There is a price set for the data, which includes passport scans, of 20 Bitcoin (£596,459) according to the cyber gang.

“Following confirmation that this was a ransomware attack last week, we’re aware that some of our internal HR files have been compromised.”, the British Library posted on X.

However, it stated that it has “no evidence that data of our users has been compromised” and that it has not been confirmed that the data being sold at auction belongs to British Library employees.

According to a National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) spokesperson, it is working with the library to “full understand the impact” of what happened.

According to the report, “Ransomware is the most serious cyber threat facing the UK, and all organisations should take immediate steps to protect their networks by following our advice.”

Rhysida ransomware group claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday, releasing an image of various documents, including employment contracts and passports from HMRC, to its leak site on the dark web.

One single-party winner will be selected at 8 a.m. GMT on 27 November for an auction for “exclusive, unique and impressive data.”

Rhysida is considered a threat by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the United States.

It said: “Threat actors leveraging Rhysida ransomware are known to target ‘targets of opportunity, including education, healthcare, manufacturing, information technology and government.”

The group are also behind recent attacks on the Chilean army, the Portuguese city of Gondomar and the University of West of Scotland.