State Police Launch Criminal Investigation into Cyberattack on LVM

The State Police have launched a criminal investigation into a cyberattack on AS "Latvijas valsts meži" (LVM) that occurred over the past weekend. The attacker managed to breach the company's IT systems and gain control over data.

The Cybercrime Prevention Unit has initiated proceedings under a Criminal Law article concerning intentional disruption of an automated data processing system that processes information related to state security.

Currently, LVM's IT team is gradually restoring internal systems to ensure business continuity. Some systems are already operational, and efforts continue to restore systems needed for communication with partners and clients, as well as the "LVM GEO" and "Mednis" applications used by recreationists, hunters, and forestry workers.

Following the attack, LVM's external IT systems were shut down for security reasons, including "LVM GEO", the map service, and the hunting app "Mednis". Several internal systems for information exchange with service providers and clients were also disconnected.

Baiba Kaškina, head of the cybersecurity institution "Cert.lv", stated that the attack may be commercially motivated. The attacker described their activities on a hacker forum, boasting about the acquired data, and similar attacks have targeted other companies worldwide. The company reported the incident to the State Police.