Berlin cyberattack ransom is €2m, Der Spiegel says

Berlin is being blackmailed after data was stolen in a cyberattack on the city, outgoing Mayor Kai Wegner said Friday, while Der Spiegel reported that the ransom demand was 30 bitcoins, worth about two million euros or $2.5 million.

“Berlin is the victim of a serious crime,” Wegner said. “The demand came in early on Thursday evening. Berlin will not give in to blackmail.”

Der Spiegel, citing confirmation from a security source, reported that the group involved is believed to be the hacker collective Rhysida. The weekly said Rhysida was threatening to publish the data if it did not receive the money within a week.

The cyberattack on August 14 left several Berlin city administrations, especially those handling housing and the environment, cut off from the network for a week. Applications for housing benefits and payments were impossible for several days.

Authorities initially said no sensitive data had been stolen, but on Wednesday said personal data may have been affected. Wegner said Germany's security services were working to catch the perpetrators and that checks were being made on what data was taken.

Deputy mayor Iris Spranger said the attack would not affect city-state elections on September 20. “The vote is 100 percent secure,” she said.

Rhysida claimed responsibility for a ransomware attack against the British Library in 2023 and demanded 20 bitcoins. The library refused to pay, and Rhysida published about 500,000 files on the dark web containing personal data of visitors, subscribers and staff.