Access to the Internet (via cable or Wi-Fi) was restricted for certain categories of services or platforms, with the exception of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, according to the decision of the leadership of the Chamber of Deputies. The institution announced on Tuesday the first security measures taken since a cyber attack last month in which hackers managed to steal hundreds of documents, including copies of the identity documents of parliamentarians and Prime Minister Marcel Čolaka.

The Chamber of Deputies restricted access to the Internet and intranet

• “In the context of the cyber incident that occurred in January this year, the Chamber of Deputies implemented the first set of new security measures aimed at users, in accordance with the recommendations of the institutions involved in the investigation of this incident.
• To increase the degree of cyber security, Internet access (via cable or Wi-Fi) has been restricted for certain categories of services or platforms, including botnet, file sharing, P2P, proxy, remote access and backup storage, except for services offered by Google, Apple , Adobe and Microsoft, and streaming video, excluding Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
• In addition to these measures, access to the INTRANET service and the card of the permanent office has been configured so that it is available exclusively within the institution to limit potential vulnerability,” the Chamber of Deputies said.

The institution emphasizes that “these limitations and restrictions apply equally to all persons without exception who use the institution’s data infrastructure, regardless of their position. Such a unified approach increases the level of cyber security, thereby responding to the recommendations of competent authorities in the field of information security.”

An unauthorized network of TP-Link devices connected to the internal network of the Chamber of Deputies was detected

Following public statements by AUR officials, the Chamber of Deputies’ Office of Information Technology and Telecommunications conducted a series of checks to identify possible disruptions to Internet or intranet services over the past two weeks.

• “These assessments confirmed that there were no disruptions in the operation of these services during the specified period.
• In addition, during these inspections, the existence of an unauthorized network consisting of TP-Link devices that do not belong to the Chamber of Deputies and which are connected to the internal network was discovered, which poses a significant risk to the institution’s cyber security,” the Chamber of Deputies said in an official statement.

Human error that made it possible to steal data from the Chamber of Deputies: an employee remotely connected his personal laptop to the IT network

Minister of Digital Technologies Bohdan Ivan explained on Friday what exactly caused the human error in the IT network of the Chamber of Deputies, during which hackers also stole a copy of the identity card of Prime Minister Cholak. “It was a human error: an employee working remotely during the pandemic at some point used a personal laptop that was connected to the IT network of the Chamber of Deputies,” the minister said.

Employees of the Chamber of Deputies still use computers with Windows XP, which has not had technical support for 10 years

Employees of the Chamber of Deputies, from whose IT network hackers recently managed to steal hundreds of documents, including copies of ID cards of deputies and Prime Minister Marcel Čolaka, still use computers with the Windows XP operating system, which is no longer technically supported. for 10 years. The information appeared in an open auction that started on Friday by the Chamber of Deputies, which wants to buy 50 PCs with the latest version of the operating system.

Cyber ​​attack by the Chamber of Deputies: 316 files with a total volume of 300 megabytes were copied

At the end of last month, Minister Ivan presented to the government some details of the cyberattack on the Chamber of Deputies, clarifying that 316 files with a volume of 300 megabytes were copied, the contents of which are mainly public, but also copies of documents certifying the identity of people’s deputies.

• “A total of 316 files were copied, of which 190 were scanned documents and 36 were edited. The total volume of this data is 300 megabytes, this conclusion was reached after technical analysis.
• Their content is mostly public, namely contracts for the provision of services, addresses of institutions, data from the budget and data that are not public – copies of documents certifying the identity of people’s deputies.
• At the moment, the competent institutions of the Romanian state are in the Chamber of Deputies and are participating in the solution of this security breach,” Bohdan Ivan said at the time.

Cholak’s first reaction after hackers allegedly stole data from his ballot: “I’m going to change it, what do I do?” / “I hope you haven’t taken out loans yet”

It will be recalled that the database of the Chamber of Deputies was hacked last month by hackers after a security breach. According to official sources, the hackers, who allegedly obtained a range of sensitive information, demanded a ransom of more than 30,000 euros, the equivalent of bitcoins, to delete the data.

Hackers stole more than 300 documents, including copies of ID cards of some parliamentarians, including Marcel Čolaka.

Marcel Cholaku announced that he will change his identity card. His statement was made after a cyberattack on the Chamber of Deputies, during which hackers also stole the Prime Minister’s personal data.

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