Berlin City Hall Hackers Steal 5.79TB, Demand Bitcoin
SingTao · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Berlin’s city government has been hit by a major cyberattack in which 5.79TB of data was stolen and a ransom demand of 30 bitcoin was issued. Mayor Kai Wegner said the city would “never accept blackmail,” as investigators work to determine exactly what was taken and how far the breach spread. Parts of the city’s online systems were shut down after the intrusion, and some public services were disrupted for days.
Key Points
- Berlin officials said the first wave of data leakage took place between August 7 and August 12 during the intrusion into city government systems.
- On August 14, networks in two departments were shut down, causing housing benefit applications and payments to stall for several days.
- Forensic checks later found additional data leakage affecting Berlin’s transport and environment departments after the initial breach.
- The Rhysida hacking group, described as active in Russia and Eastern Europe, claimed responsibility and posted a countdown on its dark web site.
- The hackers threatened to auction the stolen files after seven days with a starting price of 30 bitcoin, worth about HK$18.33 million.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the case shows how a cyberattack on government networks can quickly disrupt routine welfare and administrative services, not just internal IT systems. It also underlines the pressure public authorities face when stolen data may include contracts, confidentiality agreements, personnel files, passwords and large volumes of personal contact information.