It's been a full week since a cyberattack hit the Metropolitan Opera, bringing down its website and shutting down its box office.
So hundreds of opera fans waited patiently in line Tuesday afternoon with mixed emotions, ranging from anxiety to anticipation for what's to come.
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The Metropolitan Opera was set to stage its grand old-school production of Verdi “Aida” in 45 minutes, and 300 people waiting in line managed to snag the last general admission tickets for just $50. The reason is that a cyberattack forced the Metropolitan Opera to offer them as a workaround until its computer systems were fully restored.
Some feared a stampede, with opera lovers scrambling for the best seats.
But the crowd, amidst the chaos, was relatively calm. People who had purchased their general admission tickets on the Lincoln Centerheaded to the side aisles of the 3,800-seat Metropolitan.
There, ushers handed them improvised tickets, with their seat numbers handwritten in black marker, which were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
The attack on the Metropolitan Opera, the largest performing arts organization in the United States, knocked out its ticketing system.
It typically handles about $200,000 in sales a day at this time of year, and brought down the company's payroll system, forcing it to cut checks for some of its 3,000 full- and part-time employees.
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“ With this attack, we feel like we’ve entered the ninth circle of hell ,” Peter Gelb , the Metropolitan Opera’s general director, said Tuesday during an intermission in a rehearsal for the upcoming English-language holiday production of “The Magic Flute.” The Metropolitan Opera’s support for Ukraine , which also staged “A Concert for Ukraine” last season, helped organize a tour by the newly formed Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra. One of the Metropolitan’s leading prima donnas, Russian soprano Anna Netrebko , refused to perform in the production and distanced herself from Vladimir V. Putin, leading to speculation that Russia may be behind the cyberattack. “I can understand why there might be speculation that Russia is behind this, given Putin’s strong condemnation of the Metropolitan Opera for defending Ukraine,” he said. “But we don’t believe Putin is the mastermind behind these cyberattacks.” Gelb declined to provide further details about who was behind the attack. However, cybersecurity experts said that given the time it took the Metropolitan to recover its systems, it appeared to be ransomware. Ransomware has become a global scourge. An attack this fall hit the government of Suffolk County, on Long Island, effectively taking it offline. Five years ago, one of the largest ransomware attacks affected thousands of computers at companies in Europe, universities in Asia and hospitals in Britain. See also: Royal ransomware: Attacks healthcare organizations
Justin Cappos, a cybersecurity expert in the department of computer science and engineering at New York University, said hackers who carry out such cyberattacks typically come from Russia and Eastern Europe and often demand ransoms in Bitcoin.
“Every organization has to be concerned about its cybersecurity, even cultural organizations like the Metropolitan,” Cappos said. “No one is safe,” he added.
The Metropolitan Opera, even now under attack, has managed to carry out all its acts, staging Verdi’s “Rigoletto” and “Aida” and a new production of Kevin Puts’ “The Hours.”
With war raging in Europe, record inflation and the ongoing effects of the pandemic, cultural institutions around the world, including the Met, are facing financial problems.
“Everyone’s lives have been turned upside down,” he added. “But we will get through this.”
Source: nytimes.com
