A cyber attack on the information system of the Office of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (ÚGKK) seriously disrupted the functioning of cities and municipalities by limiting their access to current data on property rights and real estate. Without them, they are practically paralyzed in several activities that are crucial for their proper functioning and the fulfillment of legal obligations. This applies, for example, to zoning and construction procedures or processing permanent residences. This was stated for TASR by the chairman of the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia (ZMOS), Jozef Božik.
“Restrictions seriously disrupt the normal operation and daily activities of local governments and can have far-reaching consequences for citizens and business entities,” stated Božik.
As a result of the attack cities and municipalities cannot, for example, carry out territorial surveys, issue building permits or other decisions within the framework of construction proceedings. The management of municipal property is also suspended. since there is a lack of up-to-date data on ownership relationships and land boundaries. It is also complicated agenda related to real estate liens.
According to the head of ZMOS, it is another significant problem limitation of decision-making on local taxes and fees, which is often derived from real estate data. Municipalities warn that taxpayers can report changes to real estate only until the end of January, which further aggravates the situation and creates time pressure to restore the system. According to him, without the availability of this information, they are forced to suspend some proceedings or significantly slow them down. This can have a negative impact on their budgets.
Cities and municipalities cannot even prepare and approve new spatial plans or their updateswhich, according to him, is necessary for effective planning and management of the development of the territory.
“From the point of view of data security and protection of property rights, the cyber attack on the cadastre is an extremely serious incident that showed the vulnerability of key state systems,” noted Božik, saying that if the situation is not resolved quickly and effectively, it may have long-term effects on the trust of citizens, legal certainty in property relations and the overall stability of the real estate market. He therefore considers it necessary to immediately strengthen cyber security and ensure the integrity of real estate ownership data.
The Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic and the ÚGKK SR confirmed on Wednesday (January 8) that the office’s information system, which is used by the cadastral departments of the district offices, hit by a large-scale cyber attack from abroad. The offices of the cadastral departments are therefore temporarily closed as a precaution. The chairman of the ÚGKK SR Juraj Celler announced at a press conference on Thursday that there are no interventions in the cadastre database, neither owners nor ownership relationships change.
The Office for Combating Organized Crime deals with a case of suspected unauthorized intervention in the real estate cadastre computer system.
