IT security: Published access credentials create problems for Berlin administration

The publication of internal access credentials stolen from Berlin’s administration is forcing the city’s building officials to work under tighter restrictions.

The Senate Chancellery said the attackers released another package of data overnight on Sunday after the cyberattack on the Berlin state network. The package included login details, prompting the Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing to review and strengthen measures already in place.

Those additional safeguards could temporarily limit the use of specialist administrative systems, the Chancellery said. Officials will inform all users. A Senate spokeswoman also said citizens could feel the effects, although she did not specify which systems or measures were involved. One example of such a system is the application and approval process for housing benefit.

The hackers secretly accessed parts of Berlin’s state network from Aug. 7 to Aug. 12 and extracted data. The affected bodies included the Senate administrations responsible for construction and transport. The administration detected the attack on Aug. 14 and made it public three days later.

The Rhysida hacking group demanded 30 bitcoin, worth about 2 million euros, but Berlin’s Senate did not pay. After its ultimatum expired, the group published the stolen data, including personal information such as employment contracts and job applications. Media reports and IT experts have warned that the leak may also include highly sensitive information relevant to protecting critical infrastructure and the security of Germany’s federal and state governments.

"The subject of the attackers' new publication concerning the Berlin state network includes, among other things, access credentials," the Senate Chancellery said.

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The subject of the attackers' new publication concerning the Berlin state network includes, among other things, access credentials.