The website of the Court of Auditors was the target of a cyber-attack, with the databases available on the website being destroyed. According to the Court, the website was damaged in connection with resonant audits with an impact in society conducted by it at present. The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) took note of the cyber-attack and will communicate with responsible persons from the institution, IPN reports.

The Court of Auditors noted it is for the first time that it experienced such a situation. “The investigations will show if it was an attack organized by hackers arbitrarily or it was an order aimed at creating impediments in the activity of the supreme national audit institution,” the Court said in a press release.

Following reports about the cyber-attack at the Court of Auditors, information about a criminal attack at the Customs Service appeared in the public sphere. The institution denied the reports that the technical glitches appeared owing to a cyber-attack. “In fact, the malfunctions appeared at about 6am on July 15, 2021, after the data center cooling system at the Customs Service broke down. Therefore, the customs information systems had been functional for an hour and a half and long lines appeared at the Leușeni customs post as a result,” stated the Customs Service, noting the technical problem was swiftly remedied and all the border crossing points now work as usual.

Under the Penal Code, the illegal obtaining of access to computerized information is punished with a fine of 42,500 to 67,500 lei, 180 to 240 hours of community service or at most three years in jail. The legal entity is punished with a fine of 200,000 to 350,000 lei and ban on performing a particular activity or with liquidation.