Cyber ​​attack on German company: kindergarten and school photos in the hands of hackers?

Cologne/Schwerin – It’s a nightmare for many parents: the very photos of their children that they trusted the photographer to take could have ended up in the hands of criminals. After a cyber attack on a large photo service provider in North Rhine-Westphalia, there is growing concern that hackers may have stolen sensitive children’s photos.

According to a corresponding report by NDR A spokesman for the Cologne public prosecutor’s office confirmed that investigations had been initiated against unknown persons. The attack is said to have hit a service provider from Paderborn, whose service is used by around 2,000 photographers across Germany. It is therefore possible that kindergarten and school photos also ended up in the wrong hands.

According to official information, photographers and photo studios that are connected to the service provider are also affected in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The state data protection officer Sebastian Schmidt said on Friday that everything currently indicates that the incident could also affect children’s photos.

Investigations are still in their early stages

According to Schmidt, between Thursday and Friday afternoon, between 20 and 25 affected photo studios reported to the authorities. “We expect the number to continue to rise,” he said. Affected photographers and studios should immediately report this to the state data protection authority. In addition, all people whose personal data was being processed on the service provider’s platform at the time of the incident must be informed about the incident, it said.

The affected one Pursue According to NDR, in Paderborn operates, among other things, online galleries for Kindergarten– and school photographers. A spokesman for the Cybercrime Central and Contact Office (ZAC NRW) explained that the process was at a very early stage. Details cannot yet be given.