Hacker attack on police cell phones: Interior Ministry draws drastic consequences!

Hacker attack on police cell phones: Interior Ministry draws drastic consequences!

After a worrying hacker attack on the service cell phones of the state police in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Interior Ministry in Schwerin is forced to take far-reaching measures. As the ndr plans to replace all servers that are responsible for the management of the smartphones. This is done in response to the possibility that malware may already be anchored in the server structure.

The hacker attack, which took place in early June, led to the fact that around 3,500 smartphones have to be examined for malware. There is hope that they can continue to be used for phone calls. 120 mobile phones from the disaster protection stocks are to be used as a temporary solution at short notice. This is particularly important because the state police currently have to fall back on old radio techniques, which significantly limits their operational capacity.

political reactions and demands

The police leadership is dismayed by the incident and has already expressed its concerns. In the opposition, the pressure on Interior Minister Christian Pegel (SPD) is getting bigger. The CDU and the AfD have announced separate urgency applications to process the attack in the state parliament. CDU MP Ann-Christin of Allwörden emphasizes that this is a repeated threat to the public infrastructure through cyber attacks. On the other hand, the SPD and left reject the applications; Instead, they support a discussion in the government question hour.

The police union (GdP) not only called for a quick information, but also a significant expansion of IT specialists. In view of the complexity of such attacks, it is essential to get experts on board to improve IT security, such as the Security insider reported.

cyber attacks as a growing threat

This incident is part of the increasing cyber attacks on municipalities and authorities. According to Grant Thornton , such attacks that often include ransomware and phishing-campaigns have become the rule. In October 2023, for example, more than 70 administrations in North Rhine-Westphalia were victims of such attacks, which underlines the urgency of security and proactive measures.

The Ministry of the Interior provides the all -clear that the police officers have not entered the wrong hands. Nevertheless, the investigation against the perpetrators continues to run, while the possibilities to ensure IT security are to be published. The implementation of a comprehensive security concept is crucial to prevent such attacks in the future and to ensure the digital sovereignty of the authorities.

The incident illustrates how important it is to invest in IT security and to train the workforce in dealing with digital threats. The coming weeks will show which specific measures the Interior Ministry is implementing and whether it is possible to restore the trust of the population in the security of the police.