Sutaj Estok: Opposition Spread Alarming News, Police to Deal with It

Bratislava, January 10 (TASR) - The opposition spread alarming news about possible fraud with land-registry data following the cyber-attack on the Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre Office (UGKK) earlier this week, said Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) following a special meeting of the Security Council on Friday morning. According to the minister, law-enforcement authorities will deal with the opposition's statements. "All this opposition fearmongering is just a continuation of its work, as it knows nothing but how to spread hatred and unrest," stated the interior minister. This dissemination of alarming news will be dealt with by the law-enforcement authorities," he stressed, adding that law-enforcement authorities have been investigating the case since the security incident was first reported. "The Interior Ministry provided full cooperation in eliminating the impacts of the cyber-attack," said Sutaj Estok. According to him, a document on the steps needed to prevent similar security incidents was approved at the Security Council meeting on Friday. Sutaj Estok confirmed that the cyber-attack was unprecedented, never having happened before on such a scale in Europe. "Anyway, following the information from Friday's Security Council meeting, we can fully guarantee that no data kept by the land-registry office have been lost," he said. UGKK and the Interior Ministry on Wednesday (January 8) confirmed that UGKK's information system, which is used by land registry departments of district offices, had been hit by a large-scale cyber-attack from abroad. The offices of land registry departments have been temporarily closed as a precaution. UGKK chairman Juraj Celler told a news conference on Thursday (January 9) that no alterations to the home ownership database are being made, neither the owners nor ownership relationships are being changed. The incident is being investigated by all security forces. ko/df