German Chambers of Industry and Commerce shut down all its websites after a ‘severe’ cyberattack

The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) is a German guild that has been forcefully shutting down its IT systems and digital services like telephones, and email servers because of a cyberattack. DIHK represents 79 chambers under German law and provides political influence to trade unions. DIHK comprises over three million members involved in the business from small shops to big enterprises. So, the organization deals with several legal representatives, economic development, consultation, foreign trade, training services, and providing general support to its members.

According to the German tech news portal Heise.de the attack is investigated to be a ransomware attack with no regional focus. It has been observed to attack individual divisions in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bavaria, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The  Köln’s Chamber of Industry confirmed the attack and immediately limited access to the phone lines and its websites went offline to reduce the malware spread.

However, following the attack DIHK site shut its sites down as a precautionary measure to hinder the ransomware-led malware to infect other devices until its IT team develops a solution. The General Manager of DIHK Michael Bergman informed the public via a Linkedin post that they are taking all precautionary measures to find a solution to this “severe” cyberattack, however, they are unable to predict how long will it take for its website to resume activities again.