Munich Security Conference Opening Hit by DDoS Attack; Fatal Car Crash in Bavaria

The opening of the Munich Security Conference in Bavaria was targeted by a DDoS attack. Authorities have labeled it as "pro-Russian hacker activity," and police are investigating the incident. The Bavarian State Chancellery and the Ministry of Digital Affairs were also affected by the cyberattack on the conference's opening day, as reported by the dpa news agency on February 16, citing the State Office for Information Security. Bavarian authorities stated that the DDoS attack occurred on February 13. Hackers attempted to overload servers with a high volume of traffic. Officials suggest the attack is likely linked to "pro-Russian hacker activity." While no damage was caused and data was not compromised, the targeted sites were temporarily inaccessible. According to Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Bavarian government's website was inaccessible for approximately six hours on the morning of February 13, displaying an error message. Additionally, the Bavarian police and the administrations of the Munich and Garching districts, near the Bavarian capital, were also affected by the DDoS attack. Separately, on the same day, a 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter died from injuries sustained in a car crash caused by a 24-year-old Afghan driver in Bavaria.