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The Hessen C3 Competence Center was also present at the cybersecurity summit in Darmstadt. © Jens Joachim
Hesse‘s Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) presented the new “Municipal Cybersecurity Action Program” in Darmstadt. The attacked city of Rodgau helped create it.
Darmstadt – On February 22nd last year, “one click changed everything” on a municipal computer in Rodgau. Mayor Max Breitenbach (CDU) reported to his counterparts and IT specialists from southern Hesse, such as the city of Rodgau, on Wednesday afternoon in the Wilhelminenhaus of the Darmstadt regional council at the seventh Hessian “cybersecurity summit”. fell victim to a hacker attack 20 months ago after an employee opened an email attachment that was not recognizable as suspicious.
According to Breitenbach, when you clicked on the attachment, which was allegedly introduced by the Russian organization called Black Basta, a malware program was downloaded and executed. As a result, the malware spread throughout the city and public utility network and encrypted all systems, despite a two-tier firewall concept and various security precautions. The city has had to invest around 700,000 euros in the past few months for new licenses and to restore the city administration’s functionality, said the Rodgau town hall boss.
Darmstadt: “Municipal Cybersecurity Action Program” presented
After an intensive exchange with the Rodgau IT specialists affected by the hacker attack and in collaboration with the municipal umbrella associations, the Hessian Cyber Competence Center (Hessen 3C) has now developed a “Municipal Cybersecurity Action Program”, which was presented on Wednesday in the Darmstadt regional council. The state is making more than 1.5 million euros available for this year and next,
Hesse’s Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) presented the state’s new advice and support offers for municipalities during the event. Poseck said that the Rodgau example shows that municipalities are also “vulnerable” when it comes to cybersecurity, despite various security precautions. Stress tests could be used to discover vulnerabilities. The vulnerability analysis remains a “permanent task” for public administration, but also companies.
The Darmstadt regional council hosted the seventh cybersecurity summit. There was also a handout for municipal representatives with tips for crisis communication in the event of a cyber attack. © Jens Joachim
Emergency management and training of municipal employees planned
If a hacker attack is not repelled, emergency management must be put in place in the administration in order to be able to act again as quickly as possible in an emergency. However, in the digital space as in the analogue world, absolute security cannot exist. Therefore, says Poseck, the resilience of IT systems must be specifically increased “in order to make it as difficult as possible for attackers and to be as well prepared as possible in the event of damage.”
The action program offers comprehensive advice to mitigate the consequences of any attacks. There are also new training programs – especially e-learning offerings – to raise awareness among municipal employees and ensure they are appropriately prepared in the event of an emergency.
The mayor of Rodgau, Breitenbach, advised his colleagues and municipal IT specialists to study the topic intensively. Thorsten Buhrmester (CDU), the mayor of the municipality of Messel, also suggested that the topic of IT security be included in the municipal catalog of mandatory tasks.
More information The action program is available online on the Hessen 3C website at
