Latvian municipalities strengthen defenses against connected-device cyberattacks

Latvian cybersecurity authorities have warned municipalities and businesses about attacks that can target remotely controlled public services as well as computer systems, LSM reported. Municipalities in the Vidzeme region say they are prepared but acknowledge that no one can guarantee complete protection.

Local authorities face attempted break-ins and efforts to find security weaknesses in their systems almost every day, the report said. The use of artificial intelligence is also expanding attackers’ capabilities.

In Limbaži municipality, heating and street lighting are monitored remotely or digitally. Officials said they had not detected such attacks, and that heating could still be managed manually or in a partly automated mode if equipment were compromised or stopped working. The municipality’s IT department head, Raimonds Straume, said water supply could not be shut off simply by connecting to a computer.

Smiltene also uses automated systems for public utilities, including water supply and wastewater treatment. Ilmārs Mednis, the IT specialist responsible at Smiltene NKUP, said the municipality was trying to keep its wastewater treatment system offline. Its water iron-removal station can be accessed through a virtual private network.

Smiltene municipality also receives fraudulent emails in which attackers impersonate, among others, the local council’s leadership.