Cyber Incident Victim: La Maison Liégeoise
Date:
May 2025
Location:
Belgium
Summary
La Maison Liégeoise, managing nearly 4,000 social housing units accommodating approximately 10,000 residents, suffered a ransomware attack encrypting its data. Hackers demanded a ransom of two bitcoins (€200,000) to decrypt the systems, which the organization refused to pay. The attack disabled all communication channels, including phone and email, severely impacting tenant services. Limited in-person assistance and an emergency phone number were established for urgent issues. Forensic specialists are investigating the incident's origin and attempting system restoration, though recovery timelines remain uncertain.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
La Maison Liégeoise, a social housing organization managing nearly 4,000 residences for approximately 10,000 residents, suffered a significant cyberattack over the weekend of May 17-18, 2025. Hackers successfully compromised the organization's computer systems, rendering La Maison Liégeoise completely unreachable by phone or email by Monday, May 19th. The attackers deployed ransomware, encrypting the organization's data to block access. To restore access to the encrypted systems, the hackers demanded a ransom payment of two bitcoins, equivalent to approximately 200,000 euros. The origin of the attack remained undetermined at the time of reporting. This incident directly impacted all 10,000 residents reliant on La Maison Liégeoise's services due to the sudden loss of communication channels and operational capabilities. The organization's director, Arnaud Abinet, confirmed the ransomware nature of the attack and the specific ransom demand.
La Maison Liégeoise immediately declared its refusal to pay the ransom demanded by the attackers. The organization reported the incident to Cyber Unity, an entity presumably involved in cyber incident response, which was also investigating the attack's source. Concurrently, La Maison Liégeoise engaged an external IT company to attempt to resolve the technical problems caused by the ransomware; however, no estimated timeline for full system restoration was available. To mitigate the impact on residents facing communication blackout, La Maison Liégeoise implemented temporary alternative contact methods. These included offering limited in-person service at their offices every weekday morning from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and on Wednesday afternoons from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Furthermore, they activated a dedicated emergency phone line (04/341.88.01) specifically for urgent resident issues requiring immediate attention while the primary systems remained offline.