Website of Romanian Ministry of Education hacked, says education is “waste of time”

Update: In an official press release, the ministry said that "the IT administrators of the Ministry of Education are analyzing the cyber incident that led to the blocking of the website edu.gov.ro on the morning of May 8, 2023. Information technology specialists are working to strengthen the infrastructure of the page and restore it to full functionality as soon as possible. Operations are being carried out to evaluate, isolate, and remedy any vulnerabilities. Until the security audit actions are completed, the website will remain offline." Official sources also noted that no confidential data had been compromised by hackers.

Initial story: The website of the Ministry of Education was hacked on Monday morning, May 8, and a message appeared on the page urging students not to attend classes anymore because it is "a waste of time."

The hacker’s message mentions that the Romanian education system is a very poor one. Teachers are described as "not very intelligent" people because they accept to work for low salaries.

"The Romanian education system is a very poor one, which doesn't teach you anything useful, but only indoctrinates you with useless information. […] Dear students, don't bother with school anymore, it's a waste of time. What school teaches you in 10 years, you can learn for free on Youtube in 10 months. The government has made you believe that if you don't have higher education, you are stupid and will have low salaries, but you are even more stupid if you believe and listen to them," the message posted on the Ministry of Education website reads, cited by Euronews Romania.

Later on, the message on Ministry of Education's webpage was replaced with an error.

STS technicians are working to bring the website back online.

(Photo source: Peerapong Boriboon | Dreamstime.com)