Hackers Demand $2 Million in Bitcoin from Germany. Berlin Refuses to Pay
Berlin's state government refused a 30 Bitcoin ransom, and the hackers behind the attack published 5.7 terabytes of stolen data on the dark web.
The Rhysida ransomware group had opened the auction at 30 BTC. Berlin let the deadline pass instead of paying.
Why the Bitcoin Ransom Demand Failed
Rhysida, a ransomware crew active since 2023, offered the files to the highest bidder. Bidding started at 30 BTC.
Bitcoin (BTC) trades near $79,902 per coin. Therefore, 30 coins come to roughly $2.4 million. Berlin's Senate Chancellery put the demand at about two million euros.
BTC has added 0.46% today and 24.4% over the past month. That climb raised the dollar value of the demand while the ultimatum ran.
Florian Hauer, the city's chief digital officer, ruled out any payment.
"The State of Berlin will not give in to blackmail. The safety of the State of Berlin's staff and the people of Berlin is our top priority."
The Bitcoin ransom deadline ran out on Friday, September 4. Rhysida published the full dataset that afternoon.
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