The massive security breach at the Louvre Museum in Paris recently illustrated the critical need for strong security in the world’s cultural institutions. Facilities like museums, archives, and theaters are the custodians of our priceless cultural heritage. But to hackers and thieves, they’re just one more attractive target.
To support cultural institutions around the world, we’re offering them two years of Proton Pass Professional for free. While most organizations have invested heavily in physical security, digital security sometimes goes neglected. In the post-mortem of the October 19 Louvre heist, it emerged that the museum had previously secured its surveillance cameras with the password “louvre” and relied heavily on outdated operating systems.
Cameras, locks, and other physical security devices are often controlled in the cloud, erasing the distinction between physical and digital security. Tools like password managers are no longer optional — they’re essential to repel attacks that affect us all.
Until the end of 2025 only, cultural institutions anywhere in the world can request their free access to Proton Pass, which enables secure and compliant credentials management, data breach monitoring, and more.
Protecting our past and our future
Proton already protects over 100 million individuals, businesses, and nonprofits. We offer easy-to-use and affordable tools for organizations looking to modernize their security infrastructure. Culture is one of our most valuable legacies, and it needs the best protection available on the market.
Proton Pass Professional helps employees and contractors protect your organization’s accounts and networks with simple apps that anyone can use. You’ll be able to create, store, and manage strong passwords, restricting access only to the people who need them. We’re making it available free for two years to cultural institutions anywhere in the world, including:
- Museums
- Libraries and archives
- Public art galleries
- Theaters and concert halls
- Community cultural centers
This offer is only available to new Proton customers. If you believe your organization qualifies and you’re interested in this offer to strengthen your security, get in touch. Based on the information you provide, our team will confirm your eligibility.
Why are weak passwords still causing chaos?
This security faux pas isn’t unique to the Louvre, or to museums, or to institutions themselves. Weak passwords are easier to remember and share, but they’re also easier to guess, and pose little challenge for determined hackers.
Regardless of the industry or organization, hackers are always looking to exploit weaknesses and steal data, money, and even valuable historical items in the case of cultural institutions. Weak passwords, lack of multi-factor authentication, and unsecured password sharing (using email or spreadsheets) are common vulnerabilities that lead to ransomware attacks, data breaches, and financial fraud.
Looking at data from our Data Breach Observatory, more than 300 million records have been leaked in business data breaches in 2025 alone. Public and private institutions of every size are still operating without embracing the knowledge, practices, and tools necessary to stop cyberattacks.
Rising to today’s security challenges
Password managers are one of the most effective tools against hackers because they simplify day-to-day security.
- With a password manager, you can automatically generate strong, unique passwords that can’t be cracked.
- They also help you securely store and share passwords among team members, which makes it easy to add or remove colleagues’ access or change passwords if necessary.
- Password managers reduce the risk of phishing attacks by autofilling credentials only into legitimate login pages.
- Proton Pass gives you additional protections, including alerting you if your credentials have leaked from a third-party service. It also notifies you if you have weak passwords or missing two-factor authentication on any of your accounts.
Cultural institutions must embrace modern protection such as two-factor authentication, activity monitoring for their networks, and phishing protection. It may sound intimidating, but all of this effort doesn’t have to be difficult with the right tools. Proton Pass helps you defend every device in your network without any technical expertise or major expenditures.
We’re making this offer available not only because we believe cultural institutions are worth protecting but because security and freedom are fundamental rights that must be defended at every level, in every part of the world. And our nonprofit structure ensures we uphold our privacy-first mission in perpetuity. Learn more about why we created Proton.
Ready to start defending your organization’s security for free? Request access by December 31, 2025, to take advantage of this offer.
The determination of which entity shall qualify as a cultural institution for the purpose of this offer shall reside with Proton AG in its absolute discretion.
