Due to a cyberattack rendering its website inaccessible, auction house Christie’s was forced to postpone its recent watch auction titled “Rare Watches at Christie’s Geneva.” The company has referred to the incident as a “technology security issue.”
The incident disabled the Christie’s website, as individuals attempting to visit christies.com were met with redirect notices. According to JCK, site visitors would receive messages of “This site can’t be reached” or “We apologize that our full website is currently offline. We are looking to resolve this as soon as possible and regret any inconvenience.”
While the watch auction was rescheduled, eight other live auctions will proceed as planned. In a statement, CEO Guillaume Cerutti emphasized, “I want to assure you that we are managing this incident according to our well-established protocols and practices, with the support of additional experts. This included among other things the proactive protection of our main website by taking it offline.” The company has not named the perpetrator behind the hack.
The New York Times reports a previous cyber breach at the auction house. Although Christie’s has yet to reveal if client information was compromised by the most recent hack, the earlier attack leaked the location of artworks held by wealthy collectors.
