Slovakia's Land Registry Office hit by cyberattack, shuts down systems
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Slovakia's Land Registry Office (UGKK) has been hit by major foreign cyber attack, resulting in the complete shutdown of its services since Tuesday, January 9, 2025.
The attack was first detected on Sunday, has crippled access to critical property and land ownership data across the country. The incident appears to be a ransomware attack, with attackers reportedly demanding millions of euros for data decryption. According to UGKK chairman Juraj Celler, while the system has been disconnected from external networks, no alterations to the database or ownership records have occurred during the incident.
The situation is concerning due to apparent backup inadequacies. According to the Živé.sk website, UGKK lacks backups that would enable quick recovery, potentially making this one of the worst cyber attacks in Slovakia's history. Recovery efforts could extend over weeks or months, with concerns that the state may not have complete data backups.
Compromised Systems:
- Land Registry database
- Individual workplace operations
- Access to property ownership records
- Municipal services
Affected Services:
- Property transactions
- Land ownership verifications
- Bratislava's PAAS parking system
- Town and municipality operations
The organization has disconnected the systems from external networks, established a crisis management team and is performing a backup integrity verification.
No details are disclosed about number of affected individuals or any other impact of the incident.
