Several Romanian public online services have been disrupted in recent days following cyberattacks, affecting the platforms used for cadastral services and the management of European Union-funded projects, according to Hotnews.ro and Digi24.ro. Phishing campaigns were also reported.

The affected platforms are the National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration (ANCPI) and the Ministry of Investments and European Projects' application for managing procurement procedures under EU-funded programmes. The phishing campaign is using a clone of ghiseul.ro, the government's online portal for paying taxes and fees.

ANCPI described the incident as "the most serious technical incident in the institution's history."

The Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIPE) said the cyber incident has rendered its Private Beneficiaries Procurement application, used in projects financed under the EU Cohesion Policy, temporarily unavailable.

According to a source familiar with the investigation cited by Hotnews.ro, authorities are examining the possibility that the attackers have demanded a ransom, although no official confirmation has been provided.

Separately, Romanian authorities warned of an online fraud campaign involving a cloned version of the ghiseul.ro platform. The Ministry of Transport said it is not sending emails regarding alleged traffic fines and urged citizens not to follow links contained in such messages, which redirect users to a fake version of the tax payment portal. Authorities stressed that this phishing campaign is separate from the cyberattacks affecting public systems.

President Nicușor Dan described the attacks as "unfortunate" but said they should be viewed in the broader context of persistent cyber threats facing European countries.

"Unfortunately, this is part of an ongoing struggle," the president said, noting that thousands of cyberattacks have targeted institutions across Europe in recent years.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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