Scammers impersonate CSDD in emails and text messages

Scammers are sending fake emails and text messages in the name of the Road Traffic Safety Directorate, or CSDD, in an attempt to steal money and personal data, LSM reports, citing a CSDD announcement on X.

CSDD urged recipients to check links carefully. It said its genuine online address is https://e.csdd.lv and warned that the message shown in its announcement had not been sent by the directorate.

The warning follows a cyberattack on CSDD systems earlier this month, in which hackers gained unauthorised access to 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, according to the report.

The incident response institution Cert.lv said the attack exploited a vulnerability in an internet-accessible CSDD system and that several mandatory cybersecurity requirements had not been followed. The State Police has opened criminal proceedings, while the State Chancellery Crisis Management Centre and Cert.lv have been tasked with establishing a working group to address the consequences. The entire CSDD management resigned over the incident.