The Costa Rican government disabled several computer services after the confirmation of a cyber attack on Monday on the digital platform of the Ministry of Finance, reported the Presidency of the Central American country this Tuesday.
Customs services and tax declaration were temporarily suspended for external users, in addition to the operation of internal financial systems between institutions and payment of payroll in entities such as the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) and the Ministry of Education, where some 85,000 civil servants work.
Costa Rican authorities temporarily disabled the server-based platforms of the Ministry of Finance that they consider vulnerable after the cyber attack, while experts work to identify the problem and repair it, the institution said in a statement.
The industrial union indicated damages due to the disorder in customs.
“There is a paralysis of international trade since Monday. Despite the announcement of a contingency plan for exports, there is a collapse in borders, ports and airports due to the lack of clarity to apply the procedure,” said the president of the Chamber of Industries, Carlos Montenegro, in statements to the media.
The emergency was the subject of the meeting of the Government team this Tuesday, in which a crisis group was formed “for the attention and permanent monitoring of the current risk situation of cybersecurity that affects some institutions,” reported the Presidency.
Twenty days after the change of presidential command, the government of Carlos Alvarado warned of possible attacks on private platforms, without yet detailing the degree of impact due to access to “historical” information.
The Presidency pointed to “a criminal organization that has been identified as the author of the hacks“, which has previously attacked large companies and other governments, alluding to the group with youwhich handles extortion software, as warned by the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).