Lithuanian PM warns interior minister must act after email breaches and smuggling scandals

Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė has called on Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovič to take decisive action following repeated security breaches in government email systems and an ongoing smuggling investigation, state broadcaster LRT reports.

During a Monday meeting, Ruginienė and Kondratovič discussed the hacking of 50 Interior Ministry employees’ email accounts, as well as a separate case involving over 10 police and border guard officers detained on suspicion of smuggling. While the minister stated no data had leaked from the compromised accounts, the prime minister stressed that recurring incidents demand accountability.

“This isn’t the first case—remember the Registry Centre breach,” Ruginienė said. “We can’t ignore that the Migration Department’s email was hacked while the IT and Communications Department is directly responsible for oversight. They can’t just log incidents and do nothing. I want to see concrete action.”

She also questioned the effectiveness of internal security services, noting that investigations into corrupt officers were still underway. “How can these services function if their own systems harbour such scale of misconduct?” she asked.

Kondratovič acknowledged the smuggling probe’s seriousness but claimed recent drone incursions—like those disrupting Vilnius Airport overnight—had declined since last November. “Back then, we saw dozens of drones indicating organised crime. Now it’s just a few isolated cases,” he said, adding that none had been recovered after the latest incident.

Ruginienė warned the interior minister must fulfill his assigned tasks or face consequences. “I’ve shown before that I will reshuffle the Cabinet if someone isn’t working,” she stated.