Office of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre of Slovakia (UGKK)

History

2025: Ransomware Virus Attack

As a result of a large-scale cyber attack on the systems of the geodetic, cartographic and cadastral department of Slovakia (UGKK), which occurred in early January 2025, the work of the real estate market was completely paralyzed in the country.

According to The Slovak Spectator, hackers used ransomware, demanding a ransom of several million euros. The consequences of the attack affected key real estate areas. Transactions with real estate are suspended, registration of property rights and issuance of relevant documents are temporarily impossible. Problems also arose in mortgage lending, debt collection and real estate lawsuits. In addition, the system of issuing parking permits in the capital of the country, Bratislava, is paralyzed.

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Фото: Freepik

agriculture Slovak Minister Richard Takac called this attack the largest in the history of the country. UGKK's systems were immediately disconnected from external networks to prevent further damage, he said. He assured that the recovery would be done using backups, but checking their integrity would take considerable time.

UGKK chairman Juraj Seller said no changes to the database have been made and ownership remains unchanged. However, according to Živé.sk, the lack of reliable backups can greatly complicate the data recovery process. It is expected that a full system recovery may take several months.

The reaction of the public and opposition to the incident was extremely acute. Opposition parties, including Progressive Slovakia, criticized the government and Interior Minister Matusz Shutai Eštok for not protecting state systems enough. Representatives of the SaS party called the incident a "government failure" and demanded immediate measures. In turn, the minister said that UGKK is not directly subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and responsibility for the attack is assigned to the leadership of the department.^[1]

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