Berlin Refuses to Pay Ransom After City Systems Hacked
Berlin's mayor says hackers who stole city data are blackmailing the city, and officials will not pay. The hackers threaten to auction 5.79 terabytes of stolen data within seven days.
The Rhysida group, which is thought to operate from Russia and eastern Europe and was behind a previous attack on the British Museum, has reportedly claimed responsibility. Reuters reported that the group has stated on its website that it intends to begin auctioning the 5.79 terabytes of data it stole from Berlin in seven days' time.
As a result of the attack, some of the German capital's online systems were forced to close down. Officials for the city-state said an initial data leak occurred between August 7 and 12. On August 14, two department networks were shut down, leaving applications for housing benefits and payments impossible for several days.
"Berlin will not be blackmailed," Wegner said on Friday. He said state police, prosecutors and federal security services were working to investigate the suspected perpetrators with the utmost urgency, adding that inquiries into the content and scope of the compromised data are being pursued with great intensity.