Rhysida hackers publish Berlin data after failed extortion attempt

The Rhysida hacking group has published sensitive data stolen from Berlin’s state network after the Berlin Senate refused to pay a ransom.

The attackers uploaded the roughly 5.8-terabyte data package to the dark web late Friday afternoon. The stolen material reportedly includes personnel files, salary records, and confidential documents from committees of Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat.

Rhysida had demanded 30 bitcoin to keep the information private. That amount was estimated at about 2 million euros. The Senate said it would not pay and would not generally give in to such extortion attempts.

Cybersecurity expert Bianca Kastl of the Chaos Computer Club supported the decision in an interview with RBB Inforadio. “If you continued to support these groups with money or other things, then of course they would keep going,” she said. The case remains subject to updates.

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If you continued to support these groups with money or other things, then of course they would keep going.