Lithuanian political scientist criticises government response to data breach: “The plan is to shift blame”

The Lithuanian government’s handling of a major data breach at the Centre of Registers (RC) has drawn sharp criticism from political scientist Rima Urbonaitė, who accused officials of failing to take responsibility and lacking a coherent strategy, national broadcaster LRT reported on Wednesday.

Speaking on LRT’s “Laba diena, Lietuva” programme, Urbonaitė said the government’s approach appeared to be “pass the blame to someone else.” She argued that since the scandal broke, authorities had not only failed to clarify the situation but had worsened public trust through inconsistent communication.

“If you asked whether we know more today than we did last Friday, I can say directly—thanks to all the officials, we are in an even worse position than before,” Urbonaitė stated. “They didn’t just fail to prepare a plan; they didn’t even grasp the seriousness of the situation or realise they needed to explain it to the public.”

The breach, first detected in late February, involved unauthorised access to the personal data of two Migration Department employees, with their credentials allegedly used without their knowledge. While Interior Minister Vladislavas Kondratovičius claimed no evidence suggested employees had maliciously shared their logins, the investigation continues under the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Urbonaitė criticised Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė’s claim that she could not comment due to potential legal consequences, calling it an excuse. “Apparently, accountability to society doesn’t hurt as much as criminal liability,” she said, noting that prosecutors later clarified Šimonytė faced no legal risk in speaking out.

The political scientist also warned of the broader risks, including potential financial losses for citizens due to exposed personal data such as ID numbers and addresses. “People could lose their life savings, and it seems no one even considered that,” she said, accusing officials of avoiding responsibility even as public outrage grows.

Urbonaitė urged the government to halt public statements until a unified communication strategy is agreed upon internally. “Every new message now just proves the last one was a lie,” she said. “There’s no sign of a plan—neither then nor now, despite public anger.”