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Austria wary of cyber attacks after personal data of foreign residents leaked online

A massive breach of IT security in the immigration and citizenship services of local authorities in the state of Carinthia has put all states on high alert.

Austria wary of cyber attacks after personal data of foreign residents leaked online
Austria is investigating a claim that spyware targeted law firms and banks (Photo by freestocks on Unsplash)

For more than two weeks, authorities in Austria have been trying to deal with a massive security breach of government systems in the state of Carinthia.

The primary victims seem to be foreigners, as the data leaked from departments that deal with immigration and citizenship issues.

A relatively simple phishing attack, when a hacker creates a fake email or webpage to give the appearance of official communication and asks the victim to click on a link, was how the IT systems in the state were first breached.

The malware entered the system, encrypted data, and now the responsible group, known as Black Cat, has been demanding a ransom to give access to precious information back to authorities.

READ ALSO: Stephansdom: Vienna woken up after hacker sets church bells to ring at 2am

Additionally, several consecutive attacks have blocked services and taken official websites off the air – though most of these have been restored.

The main issue now is that the hackers threaten Austrian authorities by leaking data from thousands of residents online. Some private information has already been revealed.

What kind of data do they have?

It has been difficult to ascertain how widespread the attack is, as the local government hasn’t been fully transparent. At first, they denied an attack, then they said the data breach concerned “only” public servants.

However, media reports have shown that entire files had actually been published online, including ID cards, passports, and corona test results from residents in Carinthia, a state in the south of Austria home to more than 560,000 people.

The groups that seem to be most affected are some 80,000 foreigners who have been granted a residence permit in the state since 1999, spokesperson of the state Gerd Kurath told a press conference.

“Data was read, but whether it was also stolen is still unclear”, he said.

READ ALSO: Six official websites to know if you’re planning to work in Austria

The hacker group also gained access to event management services, possibly retrieving data, including contact details and payment information from over 4,000 people and companies.

Finally, they also have government correspondence, including from the office of the governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ).

What will they do with the information?

Ransomware works much like a hostage situation, except instead of people, criminals hold information. The group has blocked access to the information and is demanding $ 5 million as a ransom payment, which the government says they won’t pay.

They threaten to leak the data if the payment is not made. Still, it is unclear how much of the blocked information they can retrieve from government sites and leak.

If they do sell or publish data, people could have their identities stolen. The government says that if citizens become victims of identity theft, they will be informed about it.

What can I do now?

The state of Carinthia has set up an information hotline available every day from 8 am to 12:30 pm. People can call the line at 050 536 53003. However, no personal information, such as whether or not your own data has leaked, will be given at this moment.

At the moment, there is not much else people can do, data protection specialist Thomas Lohninger told Der Standard.

READ ALSO: Austria’s Foreign Ministry hit by ‘serious cyber attack’

Austria is not well prepared in terms of IT security, he says. The country needs to invest more in preventing attacks, according to the specialist. “This includes a secure architecture and training employees”.

Most cyberattacks, including this one, start with human error – clicking on a wrong link – and proper training is essential to prevent them.

Private citizens should also refrain from sharing personal information online as much as possible – of course, that is impossible when sharing information with public authorities.

“It does not help that there is no risk of a penalty for the loss of personal data for the public sector”, Lohninger adds.

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CRIME

Does Austria have a drug problem?

Vienna is among the European capitals with the highest number of drug-related deaths. What is the current situation?

Does Austria have a drug problem?

Police in the Austrian capital, Vienna, this week received a special nasal spray used as an antidote for opioid overdose. It’s now part of the force’s first aid kits, as Austrian media reported.

The spray is used as an antidote for poisoning with opioids such as fentanyl and is part of the standard equipment of US police units. In Austria, the departments specialising in combating drugs will now also receive the spray vials, the Ministry of the Interior confirmed.

Fentanyl is considered to be around 50 times stronger than heroin, and unintentional contact can have serious consequences – including respiratory arrest. “Inhaling large quantities is particularly dangerous,” the ministry said, according to the Der Standard report. However, skin contact can also pose a risk under certain circumstances.

READ ALSO: Is cannabis legal in Austria?

The situation in Austria is different to that in the USA, as Daniel Lichtenegger, Drug Coordinator at the Ministry of the Interior and Head of the Central Office for Combating Drug-Related Crime at the Federal Criminal Police Office, explained to the newspaper. “But of course, we want to be prepared so we don’t lag behind.”

What is the situation in Austria?

In the USA, which is plagued by the opioid crisis, the drug is now the most common cause of death for people between the ages of 18 and 49. Drugs like fentanyl are estimated to kill around 70,000 Americans every year. But what is the situation in Austria?

The latest data from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) reveals the prevalence of drug overdoses across the EU, highlighting the significant role of opioids.

While around 6,400 drug-related deaths were estimated in the EU in 2022, the report notes this figure is likely an underestimation due to incomplete data from several countries.

According to the available data, opioids, often combined with other substances, were the leading cause of drug-induced fatalities in the EU, accounting for over three-quarters of such cases in 2022. This issue is particularly pronounced in Austria, where opioids were implicated in 92 percent of reported drug-related deaths.

The country is only behind Denmark (94 percent) and tied with Bulgaria (92 percent). All other European countries where there is available data have fewer than 90 percent of drug-related deaths connected to opioids. 

READ ALSO: Do foreigners in Austria have to carry ID?

When it comes to drug-related deaths per million people aged 15-64, Austria’s numbers are still worrying, but not the highest in the European Union (plus Norway and Turkey). Here, Ireland has the deadliest drug problem (97 deaths per million people), followed by Estonia (95) and Norway (86). 

Earlier this year, the Health Ministry sounded the alarm in Austria, when it posted a report showing an increase in fatal overdoses and in the proportion of young deaths.  

Around 35,000 to 40,000 people in Austria are addicted to opioids. According to the report, opioid addiction mainly affects men (three quarters), people aged 25 and over (around 90 percent) and those living in urban areas.

As the report shows, almost half of those addicted to opioids live in Vienna, where 101 directly related deaths were recorded in 2021 (Vienna figures for 2022 were not available in the report).

This makes Vienna the leader in a comparison of federal states and has reached a peak since measurements began in 2003. In 2020, 74 people died from drug overdoses in the federal capital.

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