Berlin reconnects two Senate departments to state network following 14 August cyberattack

Restoration of state network connectivity

Two Berlin Senate administrations were reconnected to the capital's central state network over the weekend following a security shutdown triggered by a cyberattack. The Berlin Senate Chancellery, based at the Rotes Rathaus, announced on Sunday afternoon that departmental systems had restored their connection to the Landesnetz Berlin. Technicians initially disconnected the two affected departments on 14 August after discovering an attack against state digital infrastructure. Throughout the isolation period, departmental personnel could only perform internal work on severed systems without access to the internet or shared district databases. Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, of the Christian Democratic Union, confirmed the completion of reconnection efforts on Sunday.

All Senate departments are reconnected to the Berlin state network and are basically operational.

Resolution of housing benefit and welfare disruptions

The prolonged network separation caused functional interruptions across multiple connected municipal domains and social welfare systems. The most immediate disruption affected the municipal disbursement of housing benefits (Wohngeld), leaving more than 50,000 eligible Berlin households unable to receive their funds during the shutdown. In addition, the technical outage halted fund distributions under the education and participation package (Bildungs- und Teilhabepaket) designated for children and young people. District-level offices across Berlin lost access to several shared specialist procedures (Fachverfahren) required to process citizen claims and execute disbursements. Following the weekend reconnection, authorities confirmed that the clearance of stalled housing benefit payments is once again functional.

Ongoing issues with new applications

Although existing benefit payments have resumed, the recovery of public-facing administrative services remains incomplete. Berlin authorities have not established a specific date for when citizens can resume filing new online applications for housing assistance. As of Sunday afternoon, the official digital submission portal for new housing benefit claims continued to display an error notice. The Senate Chancellery noted that while municipal specialist procedures across the districts are fundamentally operational again, administrative throughput may experience short-term friction. City officials warned that employees and residents may face residual operational bottlenecks as systems synchronize.

It is, however, not ruled out that isolated disruptions and delays in work processes may still occur at the beginning.

Targeted departments and heightened IT security

The security isolation specifically involved two primary administrative bodies: the Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing and the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment. IT security teams disconnected both ministries on 14 August as a defensive precaution against lateral network intrusion across the wider state infrastructure. In response to the breach, both departments initiated immediate emergency measures to strengthen their IT architecture before rejoining the Landesnetz. The Senate Chancellery stated that these protective protocols include continuous elevated monitoring of all ministerial IT systems to detect anomalies. Administrative teams in both departments are now working to restore full operational capacity while maintaining these tightened cybersecurity standards.