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Louvre Heist: DNA Matches Lead to Arrests as Audits Expose Years of Security Failures

Newly disclosed audits show the museum ignored years of warnings about obsolete systems, including trivial passwords.

Overview

  • Police processed roughly 150 forensic traces and matched DNA from a window, a getaway motorcycle, and a truck-mounted ladder to profiles in France’s national database.
  • Two suspects are in pretrial detention — a 37-year-old alleged raider and his 38-year-old partner — while others were released, and at least one perpetrator remains at large.
  • The stolen crown jewels, valued at about $100–102 million and including a pearl diadem and a sapphire necklace and earrings, have not been recovered.
  • ANSSI audits from 2014 and 2017, reported by Libération, documented obsolete systems, weak credentials such as “LOUVRE” and “THALES,” and maintenance gaps in the Sathi/Thales platform and other unupdatable programs.
  • Culture Minister Rachida Dati told senators that security failures did exist and urgent measures are underway, as prosecutors stress the detained profiles are not linked to high-level organized crime.