BThe hacker attack on the Anhalt-Bitterfeld region triggered the first cyber disaster in Germany. Since criminals attacked the computer system on July 6, the administration of Saxony-Anhalt had to stop working for nearly two weeks. A spokesperson said on Saturday: “We are almost completely paralyzed — and so will next week.” As a result, an area with about 157,000 residents can no longer pay for any social or maintenance benefits. The security department is investigating.
As the regional spokesperson explained, the catastrophe was announced to be able to respond more quickly. Now is the problem of finding the source of infection and analyzing and fighting the virus. The IT infrastructure must be rebuilt. Citizen services should be restored as soon as possible.
The last disaster caused by the flood
The region said on Friday afternoon: “The attack has a direct impact on all areas of the region’s service area, and therefore also affects the concerns of citizens, which cannot be resolved at this time.” In addition, further consequences cannot be foreseen at this time.
According to sources, the announcement of the disaster was also due to the financial problems of many citizens being affected. According to a spokesperson in the circle, it is about people waiting for social welfare, or about youth welfare. Due to flooding, the last disaster in the Anhalt-Bitterfeld area was announced in 2013.
This Federal Office of Information Technology Security (BSI) announced on Saturday that it has been opened on site. A spokeswoman said: “There have been attacks in German municipalities, but none have been declared as disasters.” A preliminary assessment of the knowledge gained over the weekend should be made on Monday.
Transitional region
The major attack on the network in the region took place on Tuesday. It said that several servers were infected from previously unknown sources. As a result, an unspecified number of files are encrypted. All critical systems are disconnected from the network to prevent any data leakage. According to reports, criminal proceedings have been filed in the area and are working closely with law enforcement authorities.
The Anhalt-Bitterfeld area did not want to provide any information about the attacker, refer to the police investigation. The security community suspected it was extortion again. In this case, the attacker encrypts the data and releases the data only after paying the required amount.
The Anhalt-Bitterfeld district with approximately 158,000 residents is currently in a transitional phase. Long-term district mayor Uwe Schulze (CDU) There has been no election recently. He announced a disaster on Friday. His successor Andy Grabner (CDU) will take over official duties next Monday. It said that he has participated in all measures and decisions.
Old software in the municipal
In the security world, some have pointed out that Germany’s municipal IT infrastructure may be the worst defense against cyberattacks-despite the large amount of citizen data generated here. On the other hand, large companies and the federal government can afford a large number of IT departments.
BSI has a National Cyber Defense Center, which is mainly used to register and defend against attacks on the federal government. Companies with so-called critical infrastructure such as energy supply also need to report cyber attacks. Municipalities sometimes have outdated software and hardware, and only have small IT departments.
In the past few months, cyber attacks by criminal groups on companies and public institutions have increased. For example, medical companies and Düsseldorf clinics were attacked and the departments had to be temporarily closed. Just last week, a blackmail group launched a cyber attack in other countries such as the United States and Germany, attacking hundreds of companies. In some cases, state actors are also suspected of being behind criminal groups.
