Hacker group "Rhysida" publishes access credentials following attack on Berlin administration
Cybercriminals have published internal access credentials online following an attack on Berlin's administration. The construction authority and possibly housing benefit services are affected.
Berlin data breach widens: access credentials from government employees published
Following a cyberattack on the Berlin state network, the perpetrators published another data package online on Sunday evening – including internal access credentials of administration employees. This is reported by BILD citing the Senate Chancellery.
The Senate administration for urban development, construction and housing subsequently tightened its protective measures. According to the Senate Chancellery, this could shortly impair work with important specialist systems – including applications for processing housing benefit payments. Not only government employees are affected; citizens could also feel the consequences. The administration declined to specify which systems were concretely affected.
The attackers had already gained undetected access to parts of the Berlin state network between 7 and 12 August. The Senate administrations for construction and transport were affected. The attack was only discovered on 14 August; three days later, the Senate made the incident public.
The hacker group "Rhysida" is believed to be behind the attack. The cybercriminals demanded 30 bitcoins in ransom – equivalent to approximately two million euros. Berlin did not pay. After the ultimatum expired, the perpetrators published the stolen data, including personal information such as employment contracts and application documents.
Particularly alarming are assessments by IT experts, according to which the published documents may also contain highly sensitive information – partly relating to the protection of critical infrastructure and to the security of the federal government and states. The actual extent of the data breach therefore remains unclear.
Responsibility for data security in Berlin lies with the Senate Chancellery under Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (53, CDU).
Source: BILD