Berlin is being blackmailed by hackers, mayor says

Then, on 14 August, two department networks were shut down, making applications for housing benefits and payments impossible for several days.Forensic investigations had since revealed further data leaks within Berlin's transport and environment department, officials said."It cannot be ruled out that personal or other non-public data may also be affected," the mayor's office said in a statement on Friday.Authorities in the capital have not named the suspected cyber-attackers, though Der Spiegel is carrying a screenshot of the Rhysida group's dark web site claiming to possess files including contracts, non-disclosure agreements, personnel files, passwords and thousands of personal contact details.It is also displaying a countdown, after which it says it will begin auctioning off the data with a starting price of 30 bitcoin - the same amount of the cryptocurrency being sought from Berlin, the German newspaper reports.The Rhysida group has claimed hundreds of attacks since it emerged in 2023, studies say, and the group has targeted government insititutions and businesses of varying sizes in numerous countries.It successfully infiltrated the British Museum's computer systems in 2023, disrupting services and stealing around 500,000 files.When the UK institution refused to pay the ransom, the group published the files - containing the personal data of visitors, subscribers and staff - on the dark web.