The website of the government of Lazio, Italy, was attacked by hackers, and the vaccine reservation system was paralyzed

On August 2 local time, President Zingaletti of Lazio, Italy, said that recently the government network system in the region had been continuously attacked by foreign hackers, which was very serious. The network of all departments, including the vaccine reservation system, had been paralyzed.

△ President Zingaletti of Lazio Region introduced hacker attacks (picture source: ANSA)

It is reported that the network attack started on the evening of July 31 local time. The hacker broke into the network data center of the Lazio regional government by copying the administrator password and implanted the blackmail software named Cryptolocker. Portal websites of all departments and government social network accounts, including government procurement bidding, certificate issuance and vaccine appointment, are paralyzed. On the evening of August 1, the hacker launched another attack, but was blocked by the system.

The head of the local network data center said that at present, technicians are trying to crack the hacker software code. It will take about 10 days to partially recover the system data of the health department, and it may take several weeks to recover the network of all departments. Zingaletti, President of Lazio Region, said on August 2 that the emergency system was not paralyzed, and the health, banking and financial and government budget data were not stolen.

The Italian police are investigating the hacker attack. It is reported that the attack came from abroad, but the police have not released more relevant information.