Aksenoks to resign after CSDD cyberattack investigation

Aivars Aksenoks, head of Latvia’s Road Traffic Safety Directorate, plans to resign after investigations into an August cyberattack on the agency are completed, he told Latvian Television’s Rīta panorāma programme, LSM reported.

Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkēvičs said on Tuesday that the agency’s management could not continue working under the circumstances.

“I cannot simply close the door behind me and leave. I first want to genuinely help resolve the situation, and after that, I think I will definitely stop working, but first I want to get this done,” Aksenoks told Latvian Television.

The cyberattack took place at the beginning of August. Cert.lv, Latvia’s cyber incident prevention institution, said the attackers exploited a vulnerability in a CSDD system accessible from the internet. Several mandatory cybersecurity requirements had also not been followed.

Personal data belonging to 1.2 million people was obtained in the attack, along with the registration numbers of about 150,000 legal entities. The data came from payments made to CSDD over the previous 18 years.

Rinkēvičs said the attack had damaged CSDD’s reputation and public trust in the institution, adding that its management could not continue working in such circumstances.

Aksenoks has led CSDD since 2022. He previously served as a member of the agency’s board and earlier headed the Riga Motor Museum and the Biķernieki sports complex. He also led the Riga CSDD customer service centre for more than 10 years and previously served as justice minister and mayor of Riga.

CSDD’s council appoints the agency’s head for five-year terms. Aksenoks’s current term is due to end on September 30 next year.

CSDD is a state-owned company whose state capital shares are held by the Ministry of Transport.