In a startling development on Wednesday, Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, experienced a severe disruption to its electronic systems and parking services. This event coincided with GLOBSEC, a prominent international security conference taking place in the city. The large-scale cyber disruption was the result of a DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack that occurred early in the day, causing City Hall’s website to go offline. A group protesting against NATO asserted their involvement in the incident.
Matus Vallo, Mayor of Bratislava, affirmed in his statement that while the attack disrupted services, no data was compromised. The city officials are working diligently to recover the services. “Our priority is to restore all functionalities at the earliest. In this endeavor, we are in constant communication and synchronization with the National Security Bureau, the government’s CSIRT cybersecurity unit, and our internet provider,” Vallo expressed.
The GLOBSEC conference, which is attended by prominent figures such as Ursula von der Leyen and Emmanuel Macron, has on its agenda numerous discussions related to security issues. Among the topics are hybrid threats and strategies to support Ukraine amidst its ongoing conflict with Russia.
The group alleged to be behind the attack voiced their anti-NATO sentiments and involvement through a Twitter post early Wednesday morning. They suggested that their actions were driven by their opposition to NATO’s actions which they believe could potentially spark a global conflict. The posts contained a hashtag related to the conference, implying a link between the cyber-attack and the ongoing event.
Furthermore, this group had previously taken credit for cyber-attacks in Hiroshima, Japan, during the G7 summit. The summit was attended by numerous global leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In Bratislava, the impact of the attack extended to the city’s parking services, which were temporarily disabled. Consequently, City Hall suspended the issuance of parking tickets for the day since citizens were unable to pay due to the electronic disruption.
This incident underscores the increasingly urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures and preparedness as digital threats continue to pose significant challenges worldwide. It also highlights the potential for such disruptions to occur during high-profile events, leading to far-reaching consequences.