“The jokes write themselves”: The Louvre’s video surveillance password was… “Louvre”

A recent report has revealed just how outdated the Louvre’s cybersecurity was at the time of its high-profile jewel heist.

After thieves stole an estimated €88 million (around $102 million USD) in gems during a bold daytime burglary, follow-up reporting showed that core security systems were protected with shockingly weak passwords, including, simply, “LOUVRE.”

The bold daytime heist and report on the Louvre's (lack of) cybersecurity

Investigators said petty criminals had executed the Oct. 19, 2025, robbery in broad daylight. They parked a stolen truck, used a furniture lift to reach a balcony, and broke into one of the museum's jewelry display rooms. Less than seven minutes later, the suspects fled on scooters.

Daily newspaper Libération reviewed confidential documents that traced security flaws that spanned decades. French Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) engineers were said to have manipulated surveillance and badge access during a 2014 audit.

As Libération reported, "Type 'LOUVRE' to access a server managing the museum's video surveillance, or 'THALES' to access one of the software programs published by… Thales." 

Later audits called out "serious shortcomings" and "poorly managed" visitor flow. Additionally, the museum still ran legacy software bought in 2003, which operated on Windows Server 2003. Consequently, critics argued the theft was enabled, at least in part, by avoidable technical neglect.

Reactions to the news

Folks on the internet reacted with a mixture of schadenfreude and disbelief. X user @isareksopuro asked, "The password of the louvre surveillance cameras… was LOUVRE????" 

Meanwhile, @WeHigherThanSun quipped, "When the world’s most famous museum sets its password to ‘louvre’, you start to understand how the Mona Lisa keeps that smug smile ????"

The jokes continued to pile on. For example, @shyzixtr wrote, translated, "The Louvre speaks: We've just changed the password, now it is: Louvre1." Likewise, @chiaswonderland posted, "the concept of 'louvre' which was the password of louvre's video surveillance" with a GIF of Cynthia Erivo tapping her head.

Others mixed technical snark with bureaucratic barbs. @LaodisOfficial noted, "Despite RGPD, ISO27001 and intense regulation from inept bureaucrats, the password for the louvre CCTV was 'Louvre'. The jokes write themselves." 

On BlueSky, ‪@rincewind.run‬ mocked film tropes by saying, "'it’s 2025, surely nobody could still be using "password" as their password.' the louvre: hold our baguette." 

Then, @jamesomalley.co.uk contrasted fiction with reality, posting a photo of the heist's jerry-rigged setup. He added, "Films: We need to hack a keycard, obtained by seducing one of the guards. We then need to drop in from the skylight after jumping from a plane, and dodge all of the lasers and traps, carefully switching the jewels for fakes that weigh the same to avoid tripping the alarm."

Finally, @lawrencecphd.bsky.social joked, "All the good passwords must’ve been stolen by the British Museum."

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