Hacker Group Threatens to Auction Berlin Government Data
The Rhysida ransomware group claims it stole 5.79 terabytes of data from Berlin government agencies and plans to auction the information after officials rejected its ransom demand.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A ransomware group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Berlin’s government network, saying it seized a vast amount of sensitive data and plans to put the information up for public sale after authorities refused to pay a ransom.
The Rhysida group, which specializes in ransomware, said on its website that it had obtained 5.79 terabytes of data. According to the group, the stolen information includes 46,500 contracts, emails, telephone numbers, passwords, and other confidential data.
Researchers believe the group operates from Russia or Eastern Europe. Rhysida said it would sell the data through a public auction in less than seven days, with an opening price of 30 Bitcoin. It also placed a countdown clock on its website.
The attack on Berlin’s network occurred less than a month before the city’s Sept. 20 election. RBB reported that Berlin was subsequently subjected to a ransom demand, although the amount was not disclosed.
Kai Wegner, Berlin’s mayor, and Iris Spranger, a member of Berlin’s Senate responsible for internal affairs, said in a joint statement that Berlin would not bow to the threats. The statement was issued before Rhysida publicly claimed responsibility for the attack.
Wegner told a press conference that authorities had been unable to provide details about the content or scale of the stolen data because the investigation into the attack was still ongoing.
Spranger stressed that the city’s election infrastructure had not been affected. According to security officials, no election-related information was targeted.
Data from the Ukrainian cybersecurity research platform Cybercrime Help Center shows that Rhysida has claimed responsibility for nearly 280 attacks since it emerged in June 2023.
The ransomware tracking service RansomDB says nearly half of the group’s victims are in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, and several other countries.
The group has targeted government institutions on several occasions. These include an attack on the British Library in October 2023. Rhysida has also claimed responsibility for attacks against the Chilean army, schools, healthcare institutions, and other companies of varying sizes.
The latest incident has placed Berlin’s government data under threat of public disclosure, while authorities continue investigating the scope and contents of the information allegedly stolen.