Attack on Berlin state IT: Attackers steal “very sensitive data”

Parts of the IT infrastructure of the Berlin state administration were hit by an attack yesterday. There is so far little official information about the exact effects, but sensitive data is said to have fallen into the hands of the attackers.

Investigations are ongoing

The Senate Departments for Urban Development, Building and Housing as well as for Mobility, Transport, Environment and Climate Protection are affected by the incident, the Press and Information Office of the State of Berlin announced yesterday. These were able to be isolated from the rest of the network in good time so that the attack could not spread to other parts of the infrastructure. “All bodies involved are working hard to secure the state network; the State Criminal Police Office, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) are also involved,” it continued. An ICT emergency crisis team headed by the state representative for information security for the state of Berlin coordinates the further security measures and the ongoing forensic investigations.

So far, no further information has been published about the extent and background – for tactical reasons, as it was said. The public broadcaster RBB reported that, however, there is information from authorities that “some very sensitive data” ended up in the hands of the attackers.

Limited ability to work

The starting point of the attack was a security gap in the IT of the Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing. It is still unclear exactly where the vulnerability was found. However, the state’s own IT service provider ITDZ is not said to be responsible for the problem. It appears to have affected parts of the infrastructure that have not yet been centralized in the ITDZ, but are still operated by the administrative unit itself.

According to the information, the two Senate administrations affected should continue to be able to work – albeit to a limited extent. In particular, there are no services available that require an Internet connection. The employees therefore have to resort to paper files and make phone calls.