Slovak remnants in chaos: Hackers demand multimillion-dollar ransom
An unprecedented hacker attack on the Slovak Office of Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre has paralyzed the operations of offices and banks. The attackers have encrypted the data and are demanding a multimillion-dollar ransom. Prime Minister Robert Fico suggests a Ukrainian link to the incident.
The scale of the ransomware attack on the Slovak cadastre office is exceptionally extensive, leading to a total paralysis of the real estate registration system. Hackers accessed the IT infrastructure on Sunday, January 5, 2025, at 6:00 AM Eastern Time.
Critical consequences for the state and citizens
Blocking access to the property registry has caused a domino effect throughout Slovakia's administrative and banking systems. Citizens cannot take out mortgages, make changes to their residential status, or obtain building permits. Former office head Ján Mrva revealed the problematic state of security, saying, "The office is running computers from 2008, and IT experts have been laid off."
Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč assures that the office has backup data and that no one will lose their property. However, according to media reports, the lack of comprehensive security backups may significantly prolong the process of system restoration.
Fico suggests Ukraine is behind the attack
Prime Minister Robert Fico, during a European parliamentary commission meeting, stated that there is a version being considered where the attack was carried out from Ukrainian territory. "Not to mention that inside the cadastre, some employees opened the door to this attack. So it will be very interesting," he added.
Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok described the attack as unprecedented on a European scale. According to military intelligence, a similar incident occurred in Russia, which may suggest the same criminal group is responsible.
Critical real estate data is inaccessible; some can be recovered from paper documentation, but others may be irretrievably lost. The consequences for the state and citizens can be severe: halted real estate transactions, legal disputes, and potential long-term chaos in property records, comments cybersecurity expert Łukasz Olejnik.
The Office for Combating Organized Crime is investigating the unauthorized interference in the cadastre's computer system. According to unofficial information, the attackers are demanding a seven-figure amount in dollars to restore access to the data.
The authorities announce a gradual restoration of the system's functionality starting next week, initially at the level of regional cadastre offices, which will operate as independent units without a connection to the central system.
