Hacker attack meets schools in Neubrandenburg: chaos in classrooms!

Hacker attack meets schools in Neubrandenburg: chaos in classrooms!

In the beautiful Mecklenburg Lake District, some schools are under a digital shadow. A suspected hacker attack has infiltrated the IT systems of several educational institutions in Neustrelitz and Demmin. The regional vocational training center Neustrelitz including the external location in Demmin, the Neidelitz special school, the adult education center Neustrelitz, House II of the Goethe-Gymnasium Demmin as well as the adult education center and the “School on the Fir” special school in Demmin. This reports ndr .

The effects of the attack are already clearly noticeable. Teachers, employees and students can only use their electronic devices to a limited extent. Computers, notebooks, iPads, printers, boards and telephones are affected, which makes everyday school life considerably more difficult. The forecast also does not look rosy either: the disorders are expected to not be remedied on Thursday, June 19, 2025. A big question mark is also behind the question of how the technical problems will affect important school processes, such as printing certificates.

security warning for the population

The situation is additionally fueled by a warning by Digitization Minister Christian Pegel (SPD). The minister emphasizes that the population in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania should exercise caution in suspicious e-mails, especially of unknown senders. Under no circumstances should documents from these emails be opened. According to Nordkurier were also in danger of other municipal IT systems for an IT service master Schwerin and the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim met. Experts are working hard to restore the systems.

It is worrying that the education sector has increasingly stood in the crosshair of cyber attacks in recent years. In 2024, the number of incidents rose to an average of 1,673 attacks per week, which corresponds to an increase of 44 percent compared to the previous year. Educational institutions are particularly affected that are extremely attractive due to the large amount of sensitive data for cybercriminals. According to iT-icherheit.de occurred weekly attacks in schools with an increase of 75% compared to the previous year, and many facilities do not have the necessary resources to effective protect.

need for action for schools

How could that be? On the one hand on inadequate technical upgrades and on the other hand in the lack of clarification of those affected via phishing and social engineering. Thousands of new domains related to schools indicate that cyber attackers are developing more and more sophisticated methods. As a result, only 30 percent of schools that are victims of a ransomware attack can recover within one week. In the worst case, this can even lead to the closure of schools, as a tragic example shows.

The experts advise to take clear measures: safe passwords, multi-factor authentication and regular training courses on cyber security should be on the agenda. Because the better the schools are equipped, the lower the risk of getting into the catches of cybercriminals.

Overall, the current situation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is not only a wake-up call for the affected schools, but for all educational institutions that are located on the way of digitization. Future challenges are imminent and they have to be tackled now to ensure a secure digital education environment.