CSDD IT Department Head Leaves Post as Agency Seeks Replacement
Māris Puriņš, head of the IT department at Latvia's Road Traffic Safety Directorate, has left his post, and a competition for the job has been announced with a salary of up to €6,500 a month. His departure follows a summer cyberattack that exposed the data of millions.
Māris Puriņš, head of the Information Technology (IT) department at the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD), the Latvian state company responsible for vehicle registration and technical inspections, has left his position. CSDD confirmed this to the news agency LETA. A competition for the vacant post has been announced, with applications open until 15 November. The development is linked to the summer cyberattack that led to a large-scale leak of personal data.
Mārtiņš Mālmeisters, head of CSDD's Communications Department, said the employment relationship with Puriņš ended in mid-October 2026. He gave no further details.
Internal investigation
Asked about the internal investigation CSDD carried out into the summer cyber incident, Mālmeisters said the incident was assessed from an employment-law perspective, looking at the conduct of the employees involved and how they fulfilled their duties. He did not disclose the results in more detail.
The vacancy and requirements
According to information on the CSDD website, the monthly pay for the IT department head is €6,000–6,500 before taxes. The duties include managing the unit, planning the secure development of IT and information systems, overseeing IT projects, planning the budget and strategy, and monitoring the quality of external service providers.
Candidates need a higher education degree in IT, at least three years of team management experience, experience leading large IT projects, very good knowledge of IT security, and strong Latvian and English skills (at least B2 level). They must also be ready to become a state official.
Consequences of the cyberattack
A cyberattack hit CSDD overnight into 8 August, in which the data of 1.2 million people and about 200,000 legal entities was obtained. The data came from payments made to the directorate over the previous 18 years. Both the CSDD council and the management board announced their resignations on 19 August. The Prosecutor General's Office has opened a prosecutor's inquiry into possible violations or negligence that led to the leak, and the State Police have launched a criminal case over the cyberattack.
