The network of the Agency for Administrative Modernization of Portugal (AMA) was the target of a ransomware cyberattack last Thursday, which caused its “disruption” and the National Cybersecurity Center (CNCS) is providing support to the entity.
According to the AMA, it is “experiencing a disruption in its network due to a cyber attack”, with the CNCS “having been notified of the 'ransomware' incident [in which a ransom is requested] that today compromised the infrastructures managed” by the entity.
According to the National Cybersecurity Center, this is a “substantial impact on the services supported by this entity, such as Autenticação.Gov and Gov.ID”.
Five days after the cyberattack, there are still government platforms and services that are not working. The Agency for Administrative Modernization (AMA) guarantees that it is implementing preventive and corrective measures.
There are platforms that are still inoperative, such as the gov.pt portal and the application id.gov.pt, where it is possible to store, consult and share personal documents, such as the citizen card and driving license.
The Agency for Administrative Modernization notes that Requests for personal information should be ignored to recover credentials or to access services, as AMA will not request them through any channel.
So, don't forget: if you receive a message to reset your password or code, it may be a scam and you should ignore it.
AMA ensures that it continues to work closely with the competent national authorities in the area of cybersecurity and cybercrime to restore security that allows operations to function fully.
The Cybersecurity Center said that the process of forensic analysis and recovery of the affected services that will allow for their safe reestablishment is underway.
