Securitydata-breachmoldovae-governmentprivacy
Moldova's E-Government Chief Resigns After Attackers Pulled Personal Data on About 750,000 People Through Services That Needed No Login
Nicoleta Colomeeț, director of Moldova's Electronic Governance Agency, is leaving after a cyberattack extracted personal data in about 750,000 cases through public services reachable without authentication, and the government suspended 82 digital services.
Prime Minister Vasile Tofan announced her exit at the start of the October 28 government meeting, Europa Liberă reports. Artiom Cociu takes over on an interim basis, and IPN reports that Tofan asked Colomeeț to stay on through the handover.
The attack ran from October 19 to 23. Out of roughly a million people targeted, data tied to about 750,000 personal identification numbers was extracted. Extraction stopped on October 23, though officials logged more attempts on October 25 and 27. Investigators say the attackers “reportedly exploited vulnerabilities in services accessible without authentication,” per Europa Liberă’s account. Officials haven’t said which services those were. IPN reports that bank card data was not compromised.
The cleanup is broad. Beyond the 82 suspended services, more than 30 information systems and admin panels were disconnected.
Who did it is still under investigation. Tofan said there are “indications of a broader campaign involving foreign state actors,” according to Europa Liberă, which is a lead investigators are following, not a finding.
Governments everywhere are racing to put services online, and the ones that move fastest tend to build the public front door first and the locks later. Moldova’s plans now include a national cybersecurity centre inside its Cybersecurity Agency and audits of the systems involved, IPN reports. Which services were left open, and who was on the other end, hasn’t been said.