“We need nationwide certification so that everyone works with the same safety standard,” says Clemens Körner, district administrator of the Rhine-Palatinate district. In October 2022, the district administration was hacked by internet criminals, services such as social assistance, bulky waste collection, issuing driver’s licenses w. A “Vice Society” (“society for vices”) blackmailed the district and demanded a ransom. The circle didn’t pay it.
The restoration of the infrastructure is not yet complete and expensive, explains Körner, it is around 1.7 million euros. The Federal Office for Security in the Infrastructure advises the District Administrator to better secure data in the future.
Körner compares the attack to psychological warfare. The criminals had the intention to unsettle the population. The district administrator hopes that the systems in the Rhine-Palatinate district will be fully operational again by Easter.