Van Gogh Museum

The first associations with Van Gogh are often sunflowers and self-portraits. However, there is much more that makes Vincent van Gogh and the time he lived in interesting. The Van Gogh Museum wants to inspire a diverse audience with Vincent van Gogh's life and work and the time period in which he lived. The museum wants to lead the way while also being up to date and relevant.

For example, the museum regularly organizes “Vincent on Friday”, where the museum is open in the evening and, for example, a show is given by a DJ or a dance act is performed. This set-up allows young people to get to know Vincent van Gogh and his art in a new way. The museum also has the option for schools to request guest lessons and there is the 'Beeldbrekers' initiative. Within this initiative, the museum talks to young people between the ages of 17 and 25 to learn what concerns them, what art means to them and how the museum can appeal to this target group.

The innovative approach is also translated into how information security is dealt with. Rob de Zwaan, senior network manager of the Van Gogh Museum, explains how the Van Gogh Museum, together with Tesorion, ensures a cyber-safe environment.

Making art available to the public in a safe way

“The Van Gogh Museum has a wide range of activities. In addition to exhibiting her collection, research is also being carried out, for example. In addition, there are regular exhibitions and the museum develops educational programs. Finally, there are also various online activities, such as unlocking the collection via the website, the webshop and the presence on social media.”, says Rob.

“All these activities also have an impact on cybersecurity. Where criminals used to commit their crime mainly physically, museum data is just as valuable nowadays. These modern threats require a different, more sophisticated and specific approach. After all, the dynamics within a cultural institution cannot be compared to a business environment.”

Collaboration and trust are essential

“As a museum, we are dealing with a very diverse audience. Think of museum visitors, suppliers, collaborations and, of course, just as importantly; our employees. All these groups are all connected to our network, which makes our task as an IT department quite challenging,” Rob continues. “We are responsible for protecting our data, systems, and art against modern threats. This means that we want to be able to detect and respond to threats quickly. So we start from the scenario: we know we're going to be hit by cybercriminals, we just don't know when. You want to push that moment as far forward as possible. Should that moment happen, you want to be able to rely on the knowledge of experts.”

In addition to visitors' data, the museum also has to deal with all kinds of other data that can be valuable to malicious parties. “For our employees and image breakers, it can of course happen that someone takes an awkward action. When there is a culture of trust and with the right tools, you can switch quickly. As an IT department, we want to be as facilitative as possible and contribute to opportunities. Especially the younger generation sets requirements for, for example, the software and devices they have to work with. With us, everything can be discussed, but at the same time, conditions may be attached to it. For example, that a device falls under our control. If we say that something is not possible, then it really is not possible. What is important here, to prevent shadow-it, among other things, is to explain why something is not possible.”

The IT department does not have the capacity to provide the organization with 24*7 support 365 days a year. “For us, it's nice that we have the assurance that the experts at the Tesorion SOC are watching us and alerting us if there is an incident that needs immediate action. As a cultural institution, we are open to the public, which provides a different dynamic. For us, for example, climate control is essential to ensure the quality of art, while for many organizations, this is not a primary business process. It's nice to work with a partner who understands these kinds of nuances and thinks along with them.”