Hacker attack on police phones: 3,500 devices unusable!

Hacker attack on police phones: 3,500 devices unusable!

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Deutschland - A massive hacker attack hit the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state police and causes excitement in the region. Over 3,500 service cell phones may be permanently unusable, a setback that significantly affects police work. Officials cannot currently access the police databases or use internal SMS communication. Instead, you have to put on radio again, which significantly reduces the reaction speed in use. The problem was started when unknown hackers gained access to the MPol server, which manages the mobile phones and possibly access internal information such as user names and email addresses. This is reported, among other things, by [NDR] (https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern/polizei-in-mv-schalt-nach-hacker attack-Alle-deschhandysab, polica-102.html).

The Ministry of the Interior had only spoken of a limited use of the devices at the beginning, which did not exactly reduce the concerns of the police officers. In this incident, the union of the police (GdP) sees a significant setback for the police officers on site and demands faster investments in qualified personnel and modern technology. From now on, the private use of the cell phones is no longer possible, which means that the officials are further restricted in their flexibility.

consequences for digital infrastructure

parallel to the incident with the service cell phones, DDOS attacks also occurred on the websites of the state government and the police in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. These attacks, which started on Thursday morning, led to limited access to many important information, especially on the specialist pages of individual departments. The state digitalization Minister Christian Pegel (SPD) confirmed that this is not the first such attack. According to [Stuttgarter Nachrichten] (https://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/inhalt.ticherheit-hackergeratz-hackerkeit-- und-Polizei-iM-Nordosten.6c90ab2D-DBDB-402D-8D73-569693C86D7.HTML), similar attacks were made in April and November 2023 instead of.

The attacks are a direct challenge for IT security in the region. Experts of the responsible data processing center (DVZ) are therefore working intensively to ward off further waves and to restore the systems. The concern of further attacks is omnipresent, which focuses on the rapid restoration of the digital infrastructure and the security of the citizens and civil servants.

political reactions and demands

The political debate about the incidents picks up speed. The Ministry of the Interior has informed the interior committee of the state parliament, whereby the session was classified as a "cladding matter". This has led to criticism on the part of the opposition, whereby the CDU and AfD accuse the Ministry of accepting indications of possible hacking risks. However, the Greens call for more transparency in relation to the classification of the report. The incident will be a hot topic in the state parliament and the demand for answers will be louder.

Overall, the situation shows that digital security in police work and beyond must be a top priority. The protection of sensitive data, as well as the functionality of the digital means of communication, are essential for the functioning of law and order. The citizens are required to remain vigilant, while the authorities are working on the investigation and improving their security precautions.