Investigation to examine CSDD cybersecurity contract with Tet

Latvia’s transport minister has ordered an expedited official investigation into a cyberattack on the Road Traffic Safety Directorate and a major data leak, LSM reported. The investigation will also examine the directorate’s contract with technology and innovation company Tet for cybersecurity services.

Transport Minister Rihards Kozlovskis of the New Unity party said the investigation must establish all the circumstances surrounding the attack and identify those responsible. He said the Road Traffic Safety Directorate pays a substantial monthly sum for the cybersecurity services.

Information in Latvia’s Electronic Procurement System shows that the initial value of the contract awarded through an open tender for the provision and management of information technology infrastructure for the national vehicle and driver register was nearly 9 million euros, excluding value-added tax.

Tet said that the systems are maintained under the contract by Kyndrell, one of the world’s leading IT services companies, which acts as Tet’s subcontractor in the arrangement.

Tet board chairman Uldis Tatarčuks said the company did not deny its responsibility. He said an analysis was under way to establish what the systems detected or failed to detect, what was visible or invisible, and where authorisation controls were in place.

Tatarčuks said the attack appeared to have been highly professional and targeted, making it difficult to detect. He said the analysis would seek to determine how the breach had occurred, while acknowledging that the problem required an urgent solution.

Tet said it had already introduced additional security measures, including reviewing monitoring thresholds and conducting an in-depth analysis of its systems and log files. The company said these measures had produced results, with several suspicious activities detected in its IT systems in recent days and addressed in time.