Ransomware attack hit Germany's Fraunhofer IAO research institute in Stuttgart

The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO, part of Germany's Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft applied research organization and based in Stuttgart, confirmed that it was the target of a ransomware attack on December 27, 2024.

In a statement issued in early January 2025, Fraunhofer said certain systems and data had been impaired and that the precise extent of the damage could not yet be determined. Indications at that point were that the incident was local and affected only Fraunhofer IAO rather than other institutes or the wider organization.

On data protection, the institute said it generally processes research data in a form that does not allow direct conclusions to be drawn about individual people, but that unauthorized disclosure of personal data to third parties could not be ruled out and could disadvantage those affected. It notified the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision within the statutory deadline, informed police and security authorities, and directed anyone with questions to the Fraunhofer data protection team.

Fraunhofer said it was working with IT security experts and the investigating authorities to analyze the incident fully, and that it had increased monitoring, taken precautionary measures, put additional safeguards in place and alerted affected partners. It declined to give further detail because of the ongoing law enforcement proceedings. No ransomware group was named and no figure for affected individuals was published.