President and prime minister propose limiting officials’ declarations to identified users

President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs have discussed making officials’ declarations accessible only to identified users, LSM reported. They said the information in the declarations, combined with data stolen from the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD), could pose a threat to national security.

The discussion is still at an early stage, and no decisions have been made.

“It is unacceptable that these declarations can be accessed without identification. It is dangerous. They should be more restricted, possibly available on request,” Kulbergs said.

Rinkēvičs said there was no clear solution yet, but journalists should retain full access to the data.

“Combined with the data stolen from CSDD, this poses a threat to national security,” the president said.

Background

In early August, hackers gained unauthorised access during a cyberattack on CSDD’s information technology system, obtaining the personal data of 1.2 million people and the registration numbers of about 150,000 legal entities. The data came from payments made to the directorate over the past 18 years.

Cert.lv, the institution responsible for preventing cyber incidents, said the attack exploited a vulnerability in a CSDD system accessible via the internet. Several mandatory cybersecurity requirements had also not been followed, and information about the incident was received late.

Latvia’s State Police has launched criminal proceedings over the cyberattack. The State Chancellery’s Crisis Management Centre, in cooperation with Cert.lv, has been tasked with creating a working group to address the consequences of the incident.

Rinkēvičs has said the attack damaged CSDD’s reputation and public trust in the institution, and that its management should not continue working under such circumstances. Kulbergs has also called on CSDD’s board and council to resign.