The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) was forced to shut down all its IT systems and deactivate digital services, telephones and email servers in response to a cyberattack.
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The DIHK is a coalition of 79 chambers representing companies in the German state, with more than three million members that include businesses ranging from small shops to large corporations in the country.
The organization deals with legal representation, consultation, foreign trade promotion, education, regional economic development and offers general support services to its members.
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Hackers breach DIHK
A brief statement posted on the DIHK website describes the shutdown as a precautionary measure and as a way to give IT teams time to develop a solution and build defenses.
Some enterprise services are gradually being made available again after thorough testing to ensure they are safe to use. However, the restoration is currently only partial.
DIHK Director General Michael Bergmann informed the public via a LinkedIn post that the cyberattack occurred yesterday Wednesday and described the incident as "massive.".
While the cyberattack bears the hallmarks of ransomware, with systems being shut down to prevent the malware, this has yet to be officially confirmed.
There have also been no announcements of a successful DIHK breach on any of the major ransomware sites, although it would be too early for that.
German technology news portal Heise.de reports that the impact of the attack does not appear to have a regional focus, as individual departments in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bavaria and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania confirmed they were experiencing problems.
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For example, the Cologne Chamber of Industry and Commerce informed the public that its phone lines are operating at limited capacity, while its website is offline.
In the case of Cologne, the shutdown of systems is also presented as a preventive measure, which further strengthens the hypothesis of a ransomware attack.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
