Berlin Refuses to Pay Hackers Who Stole Data From the City's State Network

thehackernews.com Aug 29, 2026

Berlin Refuses to Pay Hackers Who Stole Data From the City’s State Network

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Aug 29, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Berlin’s state government confirmed it is the target of an extortion attempt following an August compromise of its administrative network. Authorities stated they will not pay the hackers’ demands. Forensic analysis revealed additional data exfiltration from the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and Environment between August 7 and August 12, 2026. The Senate Chancellery noted that personal or non-public data may have been stolen, though the exact scope remains under examination. The attackers claimed to have exfiltrated 5.79 terabytes of data, including information on 12,076 individuals. Der Spiegel and security sources attributed the attack to the Rhysida ransomware group. U.S. agencies CISA and FBI previously warned against paying ransoms, citing lack of recovery guarantees. Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner declared the city is being blackmailed. Investigations by state and federal authorities are ongoing. No ransom amount was specified in the leak site post. Berlin maintains that election-related data remains secure.

💡 Why It Matters

· Berlin’s refusal to pay reinforces the global security consensus that capitulating to ransomware demands emboldens criminal syndicates without ensuring data recovery.
· This stance protects public funds while denying Rhysida the financial incentive that fuels their double-extortion business model.

Capsules Cybersecurity

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Five Critical WordPress Plugin and Theme Flaws Enable Site Takeover or RCE

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💡 These flaws expose how routine development oversights, like retaining debug libraries, directly enable remote code execution. Attackers can now chain basic serialization errors into full site takeovers without complex exploits.

tekedia.com · Aug 29

OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft Join 116-Entity Push for Stronger Cyber Defenses as AI…

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💡 The convergence of major tech firms and critical infrastructure operators signals a shift from reactive patching to proactive, AI-driven defense strategies. This unified front addresses the urgent need to protect essential services like healthcare and water systems from automated, high-speed threats that outpace traditional human-led security operations.

thehackernews.com · Aug 29

Cosmos EVM Flaw Exploited After Cosmos Labs Knew Every Blockchain Running It…

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💡 The incident exposes a dangerous disconnect between Cosmos Labs’ internal risk assessment and its own emergency response protocols. By treating a confirmed, active exploit as a low-severity issue, the organization prioritized procedural consistency over user asset protection, undermining trust in its security governance.

punchng.com · Aug 29

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microsoft.com · Aug 29

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💡 PONS proves that architectural isolation, not just model sophistication, is the decisive factor for AI adoption in regulated sectors. By physically separating public knowledge ingestion from private client data processing, the platform offers a replicable blueprint for startups navigating strict compliance mandates without sacrificing performance.

ibtimes.com · Aug 29

Sapien’s Trevor Koverko Says AI Needs Better Data, Not Just More of…

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💡 As AI agents gain authority to execute financial transactions and modify databases, the cost of error shifts from minor inaccuracies to severe operational risks. This transition forces enterprises to treat data verification as a critical security infrastructure rather than a secondary development concern.