Suche
Mein Konto
Cyber attack on South Westphalia IT: One year later - what now?
One year after the ransomware attack on Südwestfalen-IT: Restoration of the systems, calls for better security precautions.
Cyber attack on South Westphalia IT: One year later - what now?
One year after the devastating cyber attack on the South Westphalia IT (SIT) on October 30, 2023, in which criminal hackers paralyzed the systems, the affected communities are standing up, stronger than ever! A total of 72 member municipalities were hit by the ransomware group, which exploited a VPN vulnerability and had massive consequences for administrative services. Citizens' offices remained closed and communication with citizens was severely limited. The emergency lasted 11 months, but now the SIT is back to normal operations!
The return to normality is a triumph of team spirit! Managing director Mirco Pinske, who has been in office since February 2024, praises the impressive cooperation between the municipalities: “The establishment of makeshift solutions was a sign of solidarity!” Almost 100 percent of the approximately 160 applications are fully functional again, and the most urgent services such as civic, financial and social services have been back in operation for weeks. Despite the enormous efforts, the additional costs of the incident until September 30, 2024 amount to approximately 2.8 million euros.
Safety precautions at the highest level
To prevent future attacks, rigorous security measures have been taken! Systems have been more segmented and VPN access now includes multi-factor authentication. External cyber security experts were brought in to strengthen the infrastructure. Pinske also calls for clear legal regulations for municipal IT service providers in the NIS 2 directive in order to ensure security at regional and national levels. “We need a uniform system for similar tasks in order to be able to react more quickly in the event of a crisis!”
The ransomware attack on SIT was not only the largest and most complex incident of its kind in Germany, but also fundamentally shook the IT landscape. Over 1.6 million citizens were affected and the consequences are still being felt. The SIT has shown that it is emerging from the crisis stronger, but the demands for more security and clear regulations are louder than ever!