According to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the cyberattack on Deutsche Bahn has no further impacts. BSI chairwoman Claudia Plattner told RBB‑Inforadio on Thursday that the situation appeared to have been resolved, albeit with the warning that a new wave could arise at any moment. She added that the attack did not involve customer data: “It had nothing to do with the data – the service itself was disrupted, so customer requests could no longer get through”.
The disruption lasted two days and was caused by a so‑called DDoS attack, in which an overwhelming number of requests were sent to the system, saturating it. “DDoS attacks have existed for decades” Plattner said, “but today they come in a quality that can pressure even large enterprises. Attackers use them to create a feeling of insecurity”.
Since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, such attacks have increased, according to Plattner. “We have observed this trend in recent years, and it’s clear that a lot of activity originates from Russia”. Whether Russia was behind this particular incident remains unclear. “We are still investigating; at this point we cannot make any definitive statement – this is an ongoing investigation”.