Museum heists including Louvre theft in October spark global security concerns

Following the recent robbery at the Louvre in Paris, the world’s most visited museum, security measures at museums have come under scrutiny, apparently for a very good reason.

A leaked report by France’s supreme audit institution, the Cours de Compte, pointed out serious concerns about the security systems at the valuable museum.

The report claimed the facility had “chronic underinvestment in information systems,” as Reuters noted.

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Also this week, it was revealed that the surveillance system password was apparently just “LOUVRE”; This made it easier for robbers to infiltrate the system, as other sources reported.

On October 19, a four-man crew broke into the Apollo Gallery in broad daylight and stole eight jewels worth a total of 88 million euros ($102 million). Seven people were arrested and four suspects were formally charged for their roles in the crime.

Fox News Digital contacted the Louvre to ask whether the robbery affected security measures, but the museum said it “does not discuss security issues.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to several major museums in the United States asking for comment about potential upgrades to their security systems but did not immediately receive a response.

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The Louvre has been burglarized before, joining a long history of high-profile art heists.

Read on for just a few.

shifted from its frame

In August 1911, panic broke out in the Louvre when it was discovered that Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” had disappeared.

As Fox News Digital previously reported, a thief stole the painting from its frame and escaped by hiding the artwork under his jacket.

The famous Louvre Museum in Paris was closed on October 19 following the brazen theft of several valuable jewels. (Zhang Weiguo/VCG via AP)

“News [of the theft] “It spread like wildfire, and generous rewards were promised for its return,” the Louvre describes on its website.

FRENCH OFFICIAL SAID THE LOUVRE MUSEUM WAS CLOSED AFTER THE ROBBERY

Two years later, Vincenzo Peruggia, a glazier who worked at the Louvre, tried to sell the da Vinci masterpiece he had stolen to an Italian art dealer.

The world’s most famous painting was returned to the Louvre after the seller warned the authorities.

The burglary on October 19 occurred in broad daylight. The value of the jewels stolen that day is $102 million. (Thibault Camus: AP)

According to History.com and other sources, Peruggia was arrested and received only a short prison sentence for theft.

remained unresolved

Another, more recent robbery took place at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

It remains unresolved to this day.

According to L’Agence France Presse, a report claimed that the museum “failed to keep up with the distribution of equipment to ensure the preservation of the works.” (Antoine Gyori-Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

According to the Associated Press, two men posing as local police officers entered the museum in the early hours of March 18, 1990, and said they were responding to a disturbance call.

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The men grabbed two security guards and tied them up with duct tape.

In the approximately 81 minutes they spent here, the thieves managed to steal 13 works of art, including works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet.

In 1990, two men posing as local police entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and stole 13 works of art. Today, empty frames left by thieves hang in memory of lost works. (Boston Globe via John Tlumacki/Getty Images)

The masterpieces, including Rembrandt’s “Storm on the Sea of ​​Galilee”, were estimated to be worth half a billion dollars at the time of the robbery.

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The empty frames left by the thieves still hang in the museum today.

According to the FBI’s website, “This is a deliberate choice designed to send a message to the public, a reminder of what was lost, and hope that what was once there will one day return.”

From the famous “Mona Lisa” theft in 1911 to modern museum robberies, art crimes continue to challenge security systems around the world. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

‘Critical time’

In September 2025, just a month before the latest Louvre robbery, thieves broke into the Paris Museum of Natural History.

They stole gold samples worth about $700,000, according to Agence France-Presse and the museum.

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The intruders were said to have used an angle grinder and a blowtorch to enter the complex, as Artnet.com and others reported.

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This led a museum spokesman to declare that this was a “critical time for cultural institutions” in France.

In 2018, a thief stole the golden toilet at Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born. (Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

And at the country estate of Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born, a thief stole the golden toilet in 2018.

The toilet was an art installation by Maurizio Cattelan titled “America”. It was made of 18-carat gold and insured for about $6 million, according to the AP.

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Armed with a sledgehammer and crowbars, the thief broke a window to gain entry into the house while removing the plumbing from the toilet within five minutes and then fled in a stolen car.

Symbol of the ‘Renaissance’

Louvre Museum director Laurence des Cars said Friday that Empress Eugénie’s diamond- and emerald-encrusted crown, which was found damaged outside the museum after apparently being dropped during the Oct. 19 robbery, will be restored as a “renaissance” symbol, the AP reported.

On the day of the robbery outside the museum, only Empress Eugénie’s imperial crown, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was seized.

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Des Cars said the crown was damaged when it was removed from the display case, possibly due to a “small cut” made by a disk cutter used by the thieves, rather than from falling to the ground.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch as well as The Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting.