Berlin says it won’t pay ransom after hackers steal government data
Berlin refuses ransom as Rhysida ransomware group claims theft of 5.79 TB of government data ahead of September 20 elections.
The Rhysida ransomware group claimed responsibility for stealing 5.79 TB of data from Berlin's government network, including 46,500 contracts, emails, phone numbers, passwords and classified information, and listed it for auction starting at 30 bitcoin (~$2.3 million). Berlin discovered the breach in mid-August, disconnected two ministries from the state network on August 14, and refused to pay the ransom; authorities have not officially attributed the attack. Data is believed taken between August 7 and 12, and district services such as housing benefit processing were disrupted. Officials said election infrastructure is protected ahead of the September 20 House of Representatives vote, and state IT provider ITDZ Berlin was unaffected.
- Rhysida claims 5.79 TB stolen, auctioned at 30 BTC (~$2.3 million).
- Two Berlin ministries isolated August 14; staff fell back to phone and fax.
- Data believed taken August 7-12; scope still under investigation.
- Election systems deemed secure before September 20 state election.
- Rhysida active since 2023, typically steals data and encrypts systems.
- Threat actors
- Rhysida
- Victims
- State of Berlin
- Organizations
- ITDZ Berlin
- Countries
- Germany
From the original article
3 min read at therecord.media
Berlin has refused to pay a ransom demanded by hackers who allegedly stole data from the region’s government network, officials said. Governing Mayor Kai Wegner said on Friday that Berlin had received an extortion demand following the cyberattack, which was discovered in mid-August. “The state of Berlin is being blackmailed,” Wegner said, adding that the government would not comply with the attackers’ demands.
therecord.media
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