IT-Sicherheit: Berliner Senat zahlt nicht – sensible Daten jetzt im Darknet

The Berlin Senate refused to pay a ransom demand from a criminal hacker group, Rhysida, following a massive data breach in the Berlin government network. The encrypted package, approximately 5.8 terabytes in size, was released on a darknet leak site around 15:35 on a Friday afternoon, following a 24-hour ultimatum. The demand for a ransom of 30 bitcoins, equivalent to roughly two million euros, prompted the Senate's refusal to engage in such extortion tactics.

The Senate had previously stated that it would not comply with such demands and would not pay any ransom. Upon the expiration of the deadline, the leak site announced the completion of the "auction," stating that all files had been uploaded to the publicly accessible area. However, an initial link directed users to an error message, which later enabled the download of the data.

Experts praised the Senate's decision, stating that supporting criminals with funds would only encourage further attacks. Renowned IT security expert Christof Fischer emphasized that the state had no legal obligation to pay ransom payments in cases of extortion, but noted the difficulty in such situations. The stolen data, which included over 1.44 million files, could have severe implications for affected authorities, thousands of citizens, and employees, posing significant data protection and security risks.