A cyberattack on Romania’s national property registry has disrupted the country’s real estate market after a hacker allegedly deleted the agency’s entire database following an unsuccessful extortion attempt, Risky Business News reported.
The attack brought down the systems of the National Agency for Cadastre and Property Registration (ANCPI), leaving official websites and applications unavailable for about a week. Notaries have been unable to complete new property registrations, while citizens cannot obtain property certificates or detailed cadastral documents.
The cyber incident also affected ANCPI’s email servers, further disrupting the agency’s operations.
According to sources cited by Risky Business, the attacker gained access using valid user credentials, moved through the internal network and identified key systems before deleting databases and backups after failing to pressure the agency into paying a ransom.
The attack became public on July 14, when the hacker began removing data. The following day, some of the stolen ANCPI information appeared for sale on a major hacking forum. Initially, the agency said its IT systems were unavailable because of “technical problems,” but later confirmed that it had been targeted in a major cyberattack.
