Lithuanian cybersecurity failures left vulnerabilities unaddressed, defence minister says

The leadership of Lithuania’s Centre of Registers failed to implement necessary measures to close critical cybersecurity gaps, defence minister Robertas Kaunas said on Tuesday, following reports of a major data breach affecting hundreds of thousands of property records.

Speaking at the presentation of the National Cybersecurity Status Report, Kaunas emphasised that Lithuania must strengthen its defences against cybercrime, calling personal data protection a “highly sensitive area.”

“Each institution’s head is responsible for its specific actions—in this case, the leadership of the Centre of Registers. In my personal assessment, they did not take all the necessary decisions to close the existing vulnerabilities,” the minister stated.

He highlighted persistent weaknesses in authentication, noting that even advanced firewalls and security systems fail if users do not secure passwords or implement two-factor authentication. His remarks follow last Friday’s announcement by the Prosecutor General’s Office that it had launched a pre-trial investigation into the alleged leak of over 600,000 property register records, with estimated damages exceeding €111,000.

The breach, known since April but not publicly disclosed until now, has triggered calls for political accountability. Opposition leaders demand resignations from Interior Minister Vladislavas Kondratovičius, Economy and Innovation Minister Edvinas Grikšas, and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, chair of the opposition Liberal Movement, accused the government of inadequate response. “The question is whether the prime minister knew from early April what steps were taken to protect citizens—and why they waited until the last moment, when concealment was no longer possible,” she told BNS.

She criticised the delay in notifying affected individuals, leaving them vulnerable to fraud: “People whose data was stolen had no information that their sensitive details were in the hands of criminals. This is completely incomprehensible.” Čmilytė-Nielsen confirmed her own property records were among those compromised.

Laurynas Kasčiūnas, leader of the opposition Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats, called the incident a “scandal” and suggested potential ties to Russian military intelligence, citing past espionage cases targeting Lithuanian judges and prosecutors.

“There’s an attempt to frame this as an ordinary cybercrime, but behind it could stand Russian military intelligence,” he claimed.