Hacker Wipes Romania's Land Registry Database After Failed Extortion Attempt
Romania's entire land registry database has reportedly been wiped by a hacker following a failed extortion attempt, severely disrupting property transactions across the country. The cyberattack prevents notaries from issuing land extracts, authenticating sales, or registering mortgages. Romanian officials have managed to restore the National Agency for Cadastre and Real Estate Advertising (ANCPI)'s website and are in the process of rebuilding the agency's entire network.
A hacker has reportedly wiped Romania's complete land registry database, leading to a nationwide halt in property transactions. The incident occurred after an extortion attempt by the perpetrator was unsuccessful. Notaries are currently unable to issue land extracts, authenticate sales, or register mortgages as a result of the breach.
The hacker reportedly boasted on the dark web about making backup copies of the stolen data, aiming to prevent its restoration. The National Agency for Cadastre and Real Estate Advertising (ANCPI), Romania's cadastre agency, was initially breached. The attacker claimed to have accessed data belonging to Romanian citizens from various databases, copies of GitLab servers containing source code for systems like Eterra and RENNS, internal documents, employee credentials, and their ransomware program.
Romanian officials have managed to restore the ANCPI's website and have posted a message indicating they are rebuilding the agency's entire network from scratch. The agency reportedly possesses an offline copy of the wiped data. Initially, the ANCPI cited "technical problems" for the shutdown of its IT systems before acknowledging it was facing a cyberattack.
The hacker, who reportedly gained access to the database using valid credentials, deleted all stolen data, including land registry information, after the extortion attempt failed.
