A series of cyber attacks has targeted major European institutions across different sectors, with Italy's renowned Uffizi Gallery, Northern Ireland's education system, and the European Commission all falling victim to hackers in recent incidents.

Italy's Uffizi Gallery in Florence confirmed that hackers had infiltrated its IT systems but emphasized that its world-famous art collection remains secure. The gallery acknowledged the cyber attack while denying that any security breach had compromised its priceless works of art.

Separately, Northern Ireland's Education Authority reported that its school IT system was targeted in a cyber attack just ahead of exam season. The EA stated that immediate containment measures were implemented following the incident, though officials could not confirm whether any personal data had been compromised in the breach.

The European Commission also suffered a significant data breach, according to CERT-EU, Europe's cybersecurity agency. The agency attributed the attack on the Commission to the cybercrime group TeamPCP, while identifying the notorious hacking collective ShinyHunters as responsible for subsequently leaking the stolen data online.

These incidents highlight the ongoing vulnerability of major institutions to cyber attacks across Europe. The timing of the Northern Ireland school system attack, coming just before exam season, demonstrates how hackers often target organizations during critical operational periods when disruption would have maximum impact.