Witten ransomware disables municipal systems and public administration services

On 17 October 2021, an intrusion encrypted core systems and backups used by the municipal administration of Witten, Germany. The city lost access to virtually all internal IT applications, requiring emergency workarounds and impairing administration and public-facing digital services while systems were progressively restored. A former municipal IT chief provided a first-hand retrospective confirming the onset date and the pervasive operational consequences.