Lithuanian authorities are responding to a major data breach involving over 600,000 records from national data registers, the general prosecutor’s office announced. The leak, revealed this week, primarily affected real estate and legal entity registers and was accessed using login credentials of authorized institutions, according to fortune.com.
The breach was detected after unauthorized access to sensitive databases, prompting immediate cybersecurity measures. These included blocking suspected user accounts and enforcing credential updates. The head of the State Enterprise Centre of Registers, Adrijus Jusas, resigned following the incident. The prosecutor’s office suspects involvement by a foreign country but has not named any specific nation.
This data leak is significant given Lithuania’s geopolitical context. With a population of 2.9 million, the country is a known target of Russia’s hybrid warfare tactics, which encompass sabotage, arson, vandalism, and influence operations. Opposition politician Laurynas Kasčiūnas suggested the breach could be linked to Russian intelligence, highlighting concerns that addresses of intelligence officers, military personnel, diplomats, and politicians may have been compromised.
Authorities have intensified cybersecurity protocols to prevent further breaches and are investigating the incident. The situation remains fluid, with officials monitoring for additional unauthorized activity and potential security implications stemming from the stolen data, fortune.com reported.