Cyber attack cripples Costa Rica's government systems

A week after Costa Rica’s government computer systems were hacked and the country declined to pay a ransom, the Central American country is struggling to come up with contingency plans as hackers begin to publish the stolen data, reported The Associated Press (AP).

Costa Rica’s Finance Ministry first reported the hack on Monday, when many of its systems, including tax collections and import/export processes, were affected. The hack later spread to five other public institutions.

“The initial attack forced the Finance Ministry to shut down for several hours the system responsible for the payment of a good part of the country’s public employees, which also handles government pension payments. It also has had to grant extensions for tax payments,” wrote AP.

The hackers were able to access “sensitive” information by hacking the Finance Ministry, including taxpayer information and bank accounts.

Furthermore, the attack collapsed the country’s customs agency, where manty perishable items are waiting in cold storage. Costa Rica exports a daily average of $38 million in products, many moving slowly because of the hack. The country’s exporters union claimed that $200 million were lost on Wednesday.  

“Some borders have delays because they’re doing the process manually,” said the Executive Director of Costa Rica’s Exporters Chamber, Christian Rucavado. “We have asked the government for various actions like expanding hours so they can attend to exports and imports.”

The Russian-speaking Conti gang claimed to be behind the cyber attack. However, Costa Rica has not confirmed who its hackers are.

Rumors spread that Conti was asking for a ransom from the Costa Rican government. While no specific amount was found, many on social media platforms claimed it to be a figure of $10 million.

Intelligence Analyst Allan Liska said that Conti was threatening Costa Rica with encrypting government files to halt the country’s operations and to post the stolen files on the web if they do not get paid.

“The Costa Rican state will not pay anything to these cybercriminals,” replied Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado.

On Friday, Conti’s website claimed that 50% of the stolen data had been published, including 850 gigabytes of materials from the Finance Ministry.

"This attack is not an issue of money, but seeks to threaten the stability of the country in a situation of transition. They will not achieve this," said Alvarado, who will leave office on May 8.