The library has been incapacitated since October, and the effects have spread beyond researchers and book lovers.
On November 20th, a hacking group called Rhysida—after a genus of caterpillars—offered 490,191 files stolen from the British Library for sale on the dark Web. United States cybersecurity officials describe Rhysida as a “ransomware-as-a-service” provider—a gun for hire—part of an increasingly professional array of cyber-extortion organizations.