The information system of the Office of Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre (ÚGKK) of the Slovak Republic has been targeted by a significant cyber-attack originating from abroad. The attack has led to a temporary shutdown of the cadastral departments’ workplaces, which will remain closed until the impact of the incident is fully assessed and resolved. The ÚGKK has confirmed that its systems were compromised and that all services are currently offline. The office has been working with cybersecurity experts to restore the functionality of its systems.
The cyber-attack appears to be a ransomware attack, where the attackers have encrypted critical data and are demanding a substantial ransom to unlock access to it. As a result, the land registry’s electronic services have been unavailable since January 6, 2025, and employees have been instructed to avoid turning on their computers during this period. The attack has disrupted the work of the cadastral departments, which are responsible for tasks such as registering property ownership changes based on contracts and other legal documents.
The ÚGKK has announced that the cadastral departments are expected to operate at a limited capacity starting from January 9, 2025, as recovery efforts continue. Although the offices are temporarily closed, the authorities are investigating the situation and coordinating with relevant experts to mitigate the damage and restore full operations. The attack has raised concerns about the security of sensitive national data, and efforts are underway to prevent further incidents from occurring.
An extraordinary meeting of the parliamentary committee responsible for reviewing the activities of the National Security Office will address the issue on January 14, 2025. The directors of the National Security Office and the Office of Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre are expected to attend the meeting. The Slovak government is taking steps to ensure a comprehensive response to the ransomware attack and to protect critical national infrastructure from future cyber threats.
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