Cyberattack Reportedly Erased Nine Years of Battipaglia Police Records
Summary
Preliminary checks indicate a cyberattack on Battipaglia’s municipal systems erased about nine years of police administrative-penalty records. The municipality is rebuilding them from paper archives and says it will not pay the alleged Medusa attackers.
Key points
- Preliminary checks indicate the intrusion erased about nine years of administrative-penalty records from Battipaglia municipal police systems.
- Paper copies remain in police archives, and staff are rebuilding the lost records in the computer system.
- The attack is reportedly linked to ransomware, but the article does not independently establish the incident’s technical details.
- The Medusa group reportedly claimed responsibility and demanded a large cryptocurrency payment to prevent data publication.
- Mayor Cecilia Francese said the municipality would not negotiate or pay.
- A specialist company is assisting with recovery and security measures; the article says the potential use of allegedly stolen data remains unclear.
Article Details
- Victim Organization
- Comune di Battipaglia
- Incident Type
- Reported ransomware-related cyberattack involving deletion of municipal police records and an alleged data-theft extortion attempt.
- Disclosure Date
- 2026-03-05
- Data Types Exposed
- Administrative-penalty notices and related municipal police records; the article says their possible use by the attackers remains unclear.
- Affected Records
- Approximately nine years of administrative-penalty notices were reportedly deleted; the number of records is not reported.
- Operational Impact
- Municipal police records in the computer system were deleted. Staff are reconstructing records from paper archives, and restoration and security work is ongoing. The article does not specify a full loss of system operations.
- Ransom Or Extortion
- The attack was reportedly claimed by Medusa, which allegedly demanded a very large cryptocurrency payment to prevent publication of data it said had been stolen. The administration ruled out negotiations and payment.
- Claim Status
- alleged