Cyberattack on Lithuania EPEKIS system

Lithuania’s Interior Ministry reported a cyberattack on the EPEKIS information system, an archival database managed by the Information Technology and Communications Department. The system, which has been inactive since 2018, primarily contains data regarding foreign nationals who applied for Lithuanian citizenship, mostly consisting of names without personal identification numbers.

Authorities stated that while hackers gained unauthorized access and generated certain datasets, there was no immediate evidence that data had been downloaded. Interior Minister Martynas Katelinas noted that security measures like two-factor authentication helped detect the breach and prevent it from spreading.

Following the incident, Lithuanian authorities launched a pre-trial investigation involving the Criminal Police Bureau, the State Data Protection Inspectorate, and the National Cyber Security Centre. Minister Katelinas indicated that artificial intelligence may have been used in the attack and emphasized the need to strengthen national cybersecurity.