Elviss Strazdiņš to become PM Kulbergs' unpaid security adviser

Elviss Strazdiņš is set to become an external adviser to Latvia's Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs. Speaking in a broadcast interview, Strazdiņš said he will carry out the advisory role without compensation, and that a cooperation agreement is planned to be signed on Wednesday.

Strazdiņš explained that he wants to put his experience to use, noting that security issues have become increasingly pressing for the country. He expressed hope that he could contribute something useful to Latvia through this role.

Context: recent cybersecurity incidents

The announcement comes against the backdrop of several major cyberattacks in Latvia over the past six months. The most recent targeted the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD), where attackers obtained personal data belonging to around 1.2 million people. According to Varis Teivāns, deputy head of the cyber incident response institution Cert.lv, the data was drawn from records of payments made to the directorate over the past 18 years.

Prime Minister Kulbergs told reporters he could not rule out that the attack was carried out by another state, though no specific perpetrator has yet been identified. CSDD and Cert.lv have urged the public to remain cautious of suspicious messages, emails or phone calls purporting to come from CSDD or other official institutions.

Earlier, during the Midsummer holidays, a separate cybersecurity incident affected the IT infrastructure of Latvia's State Forests (LVM). LVM's IT team gradually restored the company's internal systems, while several external and internal systems — including LVM GEO, its map services and the Mednis hunting app — were temporarily taken offline as a precaution.