A group of professional hackers is demanding a ransom of around €2 million ($2.3 million) from the Berlin state government following a cyberattack on the administration’s data network that lasted several days, a spokeswoman told dpa on Tuesday.
“It is true that a group calling itself Rhysida has claimed responsibility for the attack and claims to be in possession of 5.7 terabytes of stolen data,” city government spokeswoman Christine Richter said.
The group has been offering the stolen data for sale on the dark web as part of an auction since last Friday, she added.
“The minimum bid is 30 bitcoins, which is around €2 million. The auction runs until Friday,” said Richter. “It must be assumed that the data will subsequently be resold or published in whole or in part.”
Richter said the group is highly professional and has been linked to various cyberattacks on targets in northern and southern Europe, Germany and the US.
“There is no evidence of links to Russia or even the Russian state, but this cannot be ruled out either,” she added.
News of the cyberattack emerged on August 14. According to current findings, data was leaked on a large scale between August 7 and 12, including sensitive personal data.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said on Friday that the city would not give in to blackmail.