A recent cyberattack against Latvia’s Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) breached the data of as many as 1.2 million people and around 200,000 companies, LETA reported. Latvia’s population totals a little over 1.8 million people, LSM noted. The attackers obtained personal and company data contained in payment receipts dating back to 2008. The compromised information includes personal identification or registration numbers, names and surnames or company names, payment amounts, payment dates, vehicle registration numbers, and addresses. Varis Teivans, deputy director of Latvia’s Cyber Incident Response Institution (CERT.LV), warned that the data could be used in social engineering and fraud campaigns, advising residents to exercise particular caution.
President Edgars Rinkevics stated that the data leak posed “a significant threat to national security” and undermined CSDD’s reputation and public trust. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said that the cyberattack could potentially be classified as an attack on Latvia’s critical infrastructure. He did not rule out the possibility that the attack had been carried out by a hostile state. Kulbergs noted that this was the second serious cyberattack in two months. Earlier, hackers stole large amounts of sensitive data from the state forest management company, Latvijas Valsts Mezi (LVM). Kulbergs said that cybersecurity at both CSDD and LVM had been “highly negligent.” He instructed Transport Minister Rihards Kozlovskis to assess whether CSDD’s management should be dismissed.