Ring, ring, ring

Hacker attack on cathedral

dpa | Andrea Gillhuber, 17.03.2022, 09:19

Ring, ring, ring

Hackers sought out a seemingly unusual target on Wednesday night: residents of Vienna's city center were rung out of bed because of a hacker attack on St. Stephen's Cathedral.

On Wednesday night, the attacker exploited an internet connection between the Gothic cathedral and a bell company to make the bells in two towers of the Viennese landmark ring, reported cathedral priest Toni Faber. The spook lasted for around 20 minutes until Faber intervened with his own computer and restored the night's peace.

"We apologize to everyone who was awakened by this," said a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Vienna. Nothing was initially known about the background to the hacker attack.

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