Berlin's state government hit by data theft breach
Incident
Summary
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Berlin's state government confirmed a compromise of the city's state administrative network and said it is facing an extortion attempt, raising the risk that personal or other non-public data was taken. Forensic work found additional data outflows from the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and Environment, with exfiltration dated August 7-12, 2026. The network was partially cut off and later reconnected on August 23, while forensic scanning continues. Officials said they are not paying the attackers and that the investigation remains open.
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Timeline
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29.08.2026 00:30 2 articles · 3h ago
Senate department reports first data outflow
Victim Impact UpdateThe Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and Environment first reported a data outflow from its portfolio, and forensic work later tied additional exfiltration to August 7-12, 2026.
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- Berlin Refuses to Pay Hackers Who Stole Data From the City's State Network — thehackernews.com — 29.08.2026 00:30
- Berlin Refuses to Pay Hackers Who Stole Data From the City's State Network — thehackernews.com — 29.08.2026 00:30
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29.08.2026 00:30 1 articles · 3h ago
Berlin cuts the affected department off from the network
Mitigation Patch UpdateThe Senate Chancellery said the affected department was cut off from the network on August 14, seven days after the first outflow report.
Show sources
- Berlin Refuses to Pay Hackers Who Stole Data From the City's State Network — thehackernews.com — 29.08.2026 00:30
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29.08.2026 00:30 1 articles · 3h ago
Berlin discloses compromise and extortion attempt
Initial DisclosureBerlin first disclosed that forensic work had established a compromise of the state administrative network and said it was the target of an extortion attempt; both affected departments had been isolated since the previous Friday.
Show sources
- Berlin Refuses to Pay Hackers Who Stole Data From the City's State Network — thehackernews.com — 29.08.2026 00:30
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29.08.2026 00:30 1 articles · 3h ago
Berlin reconnects all Senate departments
Mitigation Patch UpdateAll Senate departments were reconnected on August 23, and forensic work and scanning of the state network continued.
Show sources
- Berlin Refuses to Pay Hackers Who Stole Data From the City's State Network — thehackernews.com — 29.08.2026 00:30
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29.08.2026 00:30 1 articles · 3h ago
Rhysida leak site posts Berlin, Germany entry
Attribution UpdateA Rhysida darknet leak-site entry titled "Berlin, Germany" was added on August 28 and claimed 5.79 terabytes of data, around 1.44 million files, and personal information on 12,076 individuals; no ransom figure appeared in the entry.
Show sources
- Berlin Refuses to Pay Hackers Who Stole Data From the City's State Network — thehackernews.com — 29.08.2026 00:30