Mainzer Stadtwerke defy hacker attack

Mainz municipal utilities defy hacker attack – After a hacker attack in mid-June, the Mainzer Stadtwerke managed to get back online within a few days thanks to a quick, unconventional approach.

On Sunday, June 12, 2022, a hacker attack on the Hessian IT service provider Count+Care GmbH became known. In addition to the energy supplier Entega, the Frankfurt waste disposal and service group (FES) and the Darmstadt transport company Heag, the customers affected also included the Mainzer Stadtwerke.

It is not yet known which ransomware group was involved in the IT attack and whether the attackers were also able to copy data. According to the Ministry of the Interior, IT experts from the state government from the central cyber security center Hessen3C have been supporting the affected IT service provider since Sunday. In addition, according to the IT online magazine Golem, investigations were initiated.

Homepages of the companies concerned were or are not accessible, as a result of which some online services were or are not available. In addition, thousands of employees could not or cannot access their e-mail accounts.

Best case: Mainzer Stadtwerke

The Mainzer Stadtwerke reacted quickly and unconventionally to the IT attack: Last Friday, the Hessian energy supplier was online again for its customers.

First of all, new websites and e-mail contact accounts were created in order to be able to provide information and offer contact options, as the Mainzer Stadtwerke announced on Thursday, according to the IT online magazine Golem. The new main page of the energy supplier can be reached at www.mainzer-stadtwerke.de.

Apparently a completely new infrastructure including a new domain name was established here – a remarkably unconventional approach that could be implemented much faster than repairing the old systems. Meanwhile, work continues on a long-term solution to the problems.

Source: Golem