Due to intensive cyber attacks, the websites of the Unified Web Platform (TVP) periodically experience malfunctions – slow operation or inaccessibility of the sites, the Cabinet of Ministers informed LETA.
Currently, the functioning of the TVP is assessed as stable and the responsible services continue to address the situation in order to fully repel the attacks.
LETA already observed on Monday that a number of websites of state institutions, including the Cabinet of Ministers’ website, are not working or are partially working. The disruption was also observed on Tuesday.
Representatives of the information technology security incident prevention unit Cert.lv told LETA that since August 19, intensive and tailored denial-of-service or DDoS attacks have been observed nationwide on the Internet resources of the public sector and the transport sector, as well as on some resources in the private sector. As a result of the attacks, some resources are experiencing disruptions – slowness or, in some cases, intermittent unavailability.
Cert.lv urges people to remain calm and be patient if an internet resource takes a little longer than usual to load.
“Overall, the attack is considered to be extensive,” Cert.lv representatives say.
Information obtained from the Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC) shows that there are indications that attackers are profiling the performance of websites and adjusting the attack parameters to target certain functionalities.
Attackers dynamically adapt and activate new attack sources. In total, the LVRTC has blocked tens of thousands of unique attack sources over the two days. Attackers exploit the infrastructure of public service providers in Europe and elsewhere.
Cert.lv explains that the reason for the attacks can be linked to Latvia’s latest aid package to Ukraine, which was approved on August 13 – the transfer of 30 equipped vehicles to Ukraine.
At the same time, Cert.lv reminds that politically motivated DDoS attacks carried out by pro-Russian hacktivist groups with the aim of creating public panic and undermining trust in state institutions have been occurring in waves since the beginning of 2022 and it is likely that Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Nordic region and Poland will continue to be long-term targets of Russian cyber-operations.
Source: BNS
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