Hacker attack on police cell phones: Minister level confesses Panne!

Hacker attack on police cell phones: Minister level confesses Panne!

A difficult blow for the state police in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: According to the investigators of the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), a hacker attack on the service cell phones could have assumed a Chinese secret service. This explosive Situation should not be underestimated, since the police affected, about 4,000 in number, also contain GPS data that could pursue the locations of police officers. Interior Minister Christian Pegel (SPD) described the incident as a digital gau and grants a heavy breakdown. On May 17, Telekom informed about server anomalies, which, however, did not get to those responsible in good time because the mailbox of a former employee was deactivated.

A telephone note on May 22nd finally led to the server concerned being removed from the network. Previously, on May 8, a warning from the US software company Ivanti, whose product the police are using, was ignored. This warning, like the first containment of the security risk on May 13th, remained unheard of when the Federal Office for Security in Information Technology (BSI) raised the warning level from yellow to orange. The first attack was registered on May 15, and since then the uncertainty about possible data drains has been great. However, the level emphasizes that there is no evidence of loss of personal data, which at least relaxes the situation, even if a guarantee is not given.

The first steps of the Enlightenment

After the incident, the Ministry of the Interior in Schwerin immediately initiated measures. All servers that manage the smartphones are replaced to ensure that damaged malware may not go any further. Around 3,500 affected smartphones are now being put to the test to clarify whether they can be made operational again, if only for phone calls. In the short term, around 120 mobile phones from the stocks of disaster protection should be used.

The opposition in the state parliament has no understanding of the defective information policy of the government. CDU MP Ann-Christin von Allwörden expresses distrust of the ministry's communications and refers to the regular cyber attacks on public infrastructures. Both CDU and AfD submitted separate urgency applications, while the government factions SPD and Linke are striving for a discussion as part of the government questioning. A special meeting of the interior committee was also requested to pursue the incident.

prevention and future measures

In order to avoid a similar incident in the future, Minister plans are planning to ensure that information will be sent to a functional box in the future to which several employees have access. This measure is intended to improve communication channels in crisis situations. The monetary damage that could result from the conversion of the police with new cell phones is not insignificant and could go into the millions. These worries are not unfounded: cyber attacks on public administrations are increasing in Germany. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office are often significant, and the restoration of the technical infrastructures can be claimed months take.

In order to minimize such risks, the BKA recommends regular updating IT security concepts and training of employees in relation to cyber security. In the light of the current events there will be urgent need for action in the state government to close the security gaps in IT and maintain trust in the digital infrastructure.

The debate about the security situation with the police will certainly remain a hot topic for a long time, and the country urgently has to find ways to protect its civil servants and the public from such threats. It remains to be seen how the government will react to the legitimate criticism of the opposition and what specific steps it takes to strengthen digital security.