Cost explosion after cyber attack: Burscheid is fighting for survival!

Cost explosion after cyber attack: Burscheid is fighting for survival!

Burscheid, Deutschland - A year after the devastating cyber attack on the Southwest Falen IT (sit), the city of Burscheid draws a sobering balance. The attack, carried out by the "Akira" hacker collective in the night from October 29 to October 30, 2023, had massive effects on IT services, forced to temporarily decommissioned and caused enormous financial losses. According to reports from RGA 2024 at around 2.8 million euros. These losses consist of expenses for IT security and crisis management, with 80 percent of these costs being unique. The financial burdens are also compensated for by a surcharge of at least one euro per inhabitant.

crisis management and reconstruction

Restoring the services is progressing - up to 98 % of the prioritized services have already been restored. There have been special successes among citizens', finance and social services that have been fully functional again for months. In the meantime, a group of experts works to analyze the incident and identify the underlying security deficiencies. According to Rundschau online should ensure a comprehensive forensic analysis of the SIT. It was shown that the back-ups of the data were intact, which enables a gradual recovery.

However, the investigation will not only result in a technical revision. There is also a considerable need for information about the security standards in SIT, especially in view of the rumors about possibly careful handling of passwords. The SIT spokesman denies these allegations, but a report will inform about it on January 25, 2024. The results of the investigation could also have an impact on possible recourse claims of the city of Burscheid, it should be found that the security standards had serious defects. The Situation remains tense while the city tries to stabilize its digital infrastructure and prevent future attacks.