Checks in progress for an alleged hacker attack on the Revenue Agency. The group of cybercriminals lockbit communicated on the dark web that he had attacked the Italian tax office and stolen 78 gigabytes of data via malware, which includes files of various types, from scans of documents to contracts to financial reports. The deadline to pay is 31 July. If the ransom is not paid, the cyber gang will publish all stolen data.
It is not the first time that LockBit has attacked Italy in recent months. Sometimes the targets have been small or medium-sized enterprises (Rovagnati), other times bigger fish as in this case.
La police post has already begun his research to understand if the attack really happened. At the moment, however, no traces have been found but the technicians have yet to complete all the details of the case. "Referring to the news that appeared on social media and taken up by some press organs about the alleged theft of data from the tax information system, the Revenue Agency specifies that it immediately asked for feedback and clarifications from SOGEI Spa, a public company wholly owned by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, which manages the technological infrastructures of the financial administration and which is carrying out all the necessary checks”, reads a press release.
Revenue Agency under hacker attack: the CEO of Swascan raises the alarm
The cyber attack that hit the Revenue Agency was announced Pierguido Lezzi, CEO of Swascan, the cybersecurity pole of the Tinexta Group. “It is the confirmation of the sad record earned by LockBit – continues Iezzi – which in the last quarter became by far the most active cyber gang worldwide in ransomware activity, with over 200 attacks carried out between April and June. Ransomware continues to be the main weapon of criminal hackers and, consequently, the main danger for public and private companies”.
"Swascan itself, analyzing the numbers of attacks that occurred through this malware in the second quarter of this year, found that compared to the previous quarter there had been an increase of 30%, even higher, +37%, instead, compared to the same period in 2021”, continued Iezzi adding that “it is not surprising that the PA is increasingly paying the costs. Among the victims, globally, the public administration it appears to be among the most targeted with 6% of all attacks, behind only sectors such as manufacturing and services”.
