The thieves who robbed the Louvre Museum in Paris and stole priceless jewelry in broad daylight set off widespread concern across the art world, causing places that house priceless artifacts to review their entire security programs, experts told FOX Business.
In the wake of Sunday’s robbery at the world’s most visited museum – which houses the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo – Jim Hayes, a retired special agent in charge at the Department of Homeland Security, told FOX Business that museums and art dealers will want to completely evaluate their present level of protection, alertness and preparedness against potential risks.
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Specifically, Hayes said, “they should be reviewing locks and access controls for all possible entry and exit points of their physical structures.”
Hayes, currently the vice president at Guidepost Solutions, suggested that owners and operators of these facilities should implement identification credentialing and badging to ensure that only those who should have access to secure areas of buildings where art and valuable items are housed can access them.
Venues near the famed landmark should also be on high alert, according to Hayes.
“If the crew is organized, there may be other near-term targets and those venues should be increasing external and internal security measures while permanent access control upgrades can be implemented,” he said.
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The Louvre said in a note on its website that it was temporarily closed Monday as officials work to identify the burglars, who may have been hired by a private collector.
A former jewel thief, Larry Lawton, who now assists police on such investigations, told Fox News that the operation “had to be an inside job” or the thieves must have “had inside information.”
Spencer Coursen, a threat management specialist and former U.S. Army Ranger and special deputy marshal, told FOX Business that heists are a stress test for the system that failed to imagine it.
“In the wake of this heist, the real story isn’t just the stolen jewels. It’s the spotlight it throws on every museum’s logistics, access controls and hidden weak points,” Coursen said.
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He also said that “luxury stores often protect merchandise better than museums protect history, and that has to change.”
For example, after royal jewelry was stolen from the Green Vault museum, located within Dresden Castle in Saxony, Germany, in 2019, the museum completely overhauled its security systems, according to Coursen. He said that the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist similarly exposed both human and procedural failures.
Meanwhile, the 2023 British Museum theft revealed lapses in internal accountability, Coursen said.
“While cybersecurity might be the focus today around threats, this incident should serve as a wake-up call that physical security and breaches to security systems are still a constant concern,” he said.
Following Sunday’s incident, “every museum and storage facility housing priceless artifacts is now likely conducting a full audit of its security program, both physical and digital,” which includes staff security responsibilities, key card access and camera blind spots, Coursen said.
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