Cyber ​​attack on the capital portal: Berlin in digital chaos!

Cyber ​​attack on the capital portal: Berlin in digital chaos!

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Deutschland - Since the evening of April 25, 2025, the capital portal Berlin.de, the official digital information and service platform of the State of Berlin, is the aim of a massive cyber attack. This attack, a so-called Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack, was orchestrated to overload the servers by excessive inquiries. As a result, the website berlin.de and Service.berlin.de can only be reached to a limited extent in terms of numerous citizens and authorities. According to information from the capital's press and information office, there was no data drainage during the attack.

The Berlin police, which is also affected by the disorders, are currently facing challenges in providing press releases. In particular, the data from police crime statistics are currently not available. Nevertheless, the police station remains available to the police, which can be used to reimburse advertisements. Stephan Weh, the head of state of the police union (GdP), emphasized that the current cyber attacks required more investments in cyber defense.

Current Situation

The incident not only paralyzed the capital portal, but also affected all areas of the service portal. The service portal was partially available on Monday afternoon, but there are still problems and restrictions, especially when booking appointments in the citizens' office. Citizens have the option of clarifying their concerns as an alternative via the authority hotline 115 or using it to serve the unknown federal portal. The Senate Chancellery has also confirmed that there is no sustainable damage to the systems by the attack.

lack of clarity about the background of the attack. It is believed that behind this attack is an increasing wave of cyber attacks that affect security authorities. This was also addressed by the GdP, which warns of an increasing number of such attacks. A similar incident had already taken place on Berlin.de in April 2023.

meaning of cybersecurity

The current incident is only an example of the increasingly complex landscape of cyber threats. Cybersecurity has become significantly more important in the digitized world, especially in view of the rapidly increasing number of cyber attacks, data leaks and ransomware attacks. Shamedical software, phishing methods and man-in-the-middle attacks lead to considerable risks. The aim of these attacks is often to steal sensitive data, to disturb critical infrastructures or to gain access to financial resources. Therefore, a continuous observation and analysis of current threats is of the greatest importance to develop effective protection strategies.

Overall, the cyber attack on the capital portal illustrates the need to actively deal with the growing cyber risks and to take adequate measures to ensure safety and functionality of digital infrastructures. Cooperation between those responsible is of central importance in order to effectively cope with the challenges of cybersecurity.

For more information about the reporting on the attack on the capital portal, visit Berlin Live or n-tv. You can find out more about the general cyber threats on the knowledge.