# Berlin Says It Will Not Pay After Hackers Demand Millions Following City Cyberattack > Mayor Kai Wegner says Berlin is being blackmailed following a cyberattack this month that knocked city administration systems offline for a week, with hackers now demanding roughly two million euros in bitcoin and the city vowing not to give in. - Source: Berlin Today - Canonical URL: https://berlintoday.eu/article/berlin-says-it-will-not-pay-after-hackers-demand-millions-following-city-cyberattack - Author: Doug Brown - Section: News - Published: 2026-08-30T13:52:57.378Z - Updated: 2026-08-30T13:52:57.378Z - Tags: Berlin, cyberattack, ransomware, Kai Wegner, hackers, data breach, security --- Berlin's city government says it is being blackmailed following a cyberattack earlier this month, with Mayor Kai Wegner declaring that the German capital will not give in to the hackers' demands. The blackmail message arrived on a recent Thursday evening, roughly two weeks after the original breach. The attackers are demanding the equivalent of about two million euros, payable in bitcoin, in exchange for not releasing or further exploiting data taken from the city's systems. ## A Week of Disrupted City Services The cyberattack itself struck on August 14, cutting off several city administrative departments from the network for roughly a week. Offices handling housing and environmental matters were among the hardest hit, leaving staff unable to access core systems while technicians worked to contain and assess the damage. City officials initially said no sensitive data appeared to have been stolen in the breach. That assessment shifted days later, when authorities acknowledged that personal data may in fact have been compromised, a reversal that has added to public concern over how the incident was handled and communicated. ## A Familiar Name Among Ransomware Gangs Investigators believe the attack bears the hallmarks of Rhysida, a hacker collective that has claimed responsibility for a string of high profile ransomware attacks in recent years, including a widely reported breach of the British Library. That earlier attack also involved a bitcoin ransom demand, a pattern consistent with the tactics now being used against Berlin. German security services are working to identify and pursue those responsible, though attributing and prosecuting ransomware attacks that cross borders has historically proven difficult for law enforcement across Europe. ## Why It Matters Wegner's public refusal to pay reflects a now common stance among Western governments toward ransomware demands, on the logic that paying only encourages further attacks on public institutions. But that principled position carries real risk if the stolen data includes residents' personal information, since a refusal to pay could prompt the attackers to leak or sell it regardless. The episode adds Berlin to a growing list of European cities and public agencies targeted by ransomware groups in recent years, underscoring how exposed municipal IT systems, often running older infrastructure with limited security budgets, remain to increasingly organized cybercriminal operations. --- Originally published by Berlin Today. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://berlintoday.eu/article/berlin-says-it-will-not-pay-after-hackers-demand-millions-following-city-cyberattack.