CSDD warns of phishing scams using its name after data breach

The Latvian Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) has issued a warning about ongoing fraudulent activities, with scammers actively sending fake emails and text messages that impersonate the official CSDD communications. The directorate urges the public to exercise extreme caution and meticulously verify the authenticity of any links received.

Specifically, the CSDD advises individuals to scrutinize email links, ensuring they direct to the legitimate website, 'e.csdd.lv'. This warning comes in the wake of a severe cyberattack that targeted the CSDD earlier in August. The attack led to a massive breach of personal data, compromising information from approximately 1.2 million individuals and around 200,000 legal entities, primarily from payment records over the past 18 years.

In response to the data breach, both the CSDD board and company management announced their resignations on August 19. The Minister of Transport, Rihards Kozlovskis, has initiated an expedited official investigation to determine the circumstances and identify responsible parties related to the cyberattack and the extensive data leak. This investigation will also examine the CSDD's contract with SIA 'Tet' for cybersecurity services.

Furthermore, the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, has formally requested the Prosecutor General to investigate the actions of CSDD officials concerning the security of the data, as per the Prosecutor's Office Law. The CSDD is a state-owned joint-stock company responsible for vehicle registration, driver's license issuance, technical inspections, and other related services, with the Ministry of Transport acting as the shareholder representative.