Romanian Waters confirms cyberattack, critical water operations unaffected

Romanian Waters, the country’s national water management authority, says it suffered a ransomware attack over the weekend, with about 1,000 IT&C systems affected across the central organisation and 10 of its 11 regional offices.

According to the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC), the incident disrupted GIS servers, databases, email and web services, Windows workstations, and DNS, but operable technology (OT) systems managing water infrastructure were not impacted and water operations continue to function normally.

The DNSC press release notes that threat actors used Windows BitLocker to encrypt systems and that a ransom note demanded contact within seven days, though the attack vector had not yet been identified at the time of reporting. Investigations involve DNSC, Romanian Waters, the SRI’s National Cyberint Center, affected entities, and other authorities, with work to contain the impact and restore services underway.

Authorities have started integrating Romanian Waters’ infrastructure into CNC’s security platforms, after it was not yet connected to the national cyber protection system.