LIVE // Government to create working group to strengthen cybersecurity

UPDATE // A working group to strengthen cybersecurity and protect personal data will be created in the Republic of Moldova following the attack on government information systems. It will be led by the prime minister and will have one month to prepare proposals on data security and the modernization of digital infrastructure, President Maia Sandu announced after a meeting of the National Security Council.

According to the president, the authorities intend to assess the security of electronic public services, restrict unauthorized access to personal data, and tighten requirements for information technology procurement.

In addition, digital security lessons will be prepared for students in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. Citizens will also be provided with recommendations on protecting their personal information. The next meeting of the National Security Council, during which progress on the established measures will be assessed, is scheduled to take place in three months.

 

UPDATE // The recent cyberattack did not affect the integrity of banking data, and the IBAN information of some citizens obtained by the attackers is not sufficient to access bank accounts. The statement was made by President Maia Sandu, who nevertheless warned that the stolen data could be used in fraud attempts.

According to the president, banks will provide additional information to customers whose data may have been compromised in order to intensify the monitoring of potentially suspicious transactions.

Maia Sandu emphasized that the main risk lies in using the stolen information to deceive citizens. For example, attackers could combine a person's personal identification number with data about their travel routes, driver's license, or IBAN in order to impersonate bank or police representatives and obtain additional information. The president urged citizens to remain vigilant and not to provide personal or banking data to people who contact them in such circumstances.

UPDATE // President Maia Sandu announced during the briefing that the data of more than 450,000 citizens had been accessed as a result of the cyberattack.

UPDATE // Timeline of the cyberattack:

The cyberattack against government websites in the Republic of Moldova began on the evening of October 19, while the most intense activity was recorded on October 20, when approximately one million requests were made in a single day—30 times more than usual. The information was presented by President Maia Sandu after a meeting of the National Security Council.

According to the timeline presented by the president, the automated requests originated from more than 638 IP addresses, which concealed the actual source of the attack. Also on October 20, the attackers obtained more than 260,000 records concerning citizens' relatives. On October 21, the Electronic Governance Agency stopped the extraction of data about relatives. Two days later, on October 23, the blocking of the sources of the attack began, and by October 24, all attacks had been blocked and the attackers could no longer steal data.

Maia Sandu noted that subsequent attempts to penetrate the information systems were also repeatedly thwarted by state institutions.

 

President Maia Sandu convened a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) today.

The agenda includes examining the measures needed to strengthen the country's cybersecurity and ensure a higher level of protection for digital government services.

According to the presidential institution, the meeting is also taking place amid an intensification of cyberattacks against public institutions and critical infrastructure in several European countries, with the most recent attacks targeting more than ten states this week.