On August 20, 2024, Latvian public sector websites suffered cyber attacks causing intermittent malfunction and slow operation, linked to pro-Russian DDoS attacks.

Cyber & Information WarfareCyber AttacksAttacks on critical infrastructure (energy, transport, hospitals)

Aggressor

Summary

On August 20, 2024, the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers reported ongoing intensive cyber attacks on public sector websites, causing periodic malfunctions, slow operation, and some inaccessibility of the unified state platform and other state institutions. The Latvian Information Technology Security Incident Prevention Authority 'Cert.lv' noted that since August 19, intensive and tailored denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks affected multiple public sector and transport sector websites, with some private sector resources also disrupted. The attacks caused slowed or intermittent availability of internet resources. Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC) detected attackers attempting to profile website performance to adjust attack parameters. LVRTC blocked tens of thousands of unique attack sources over the two days. Cert.lv linked the attacks to Latvia's aid package to Ukraine and noted a wave of politically motivated DDoS attacks by pro-Russian hacktivist groups targeting Baltic and Nordic countries since early 2022. The incident reflects ongoing Russian cyber aggression aimed at undermining state institutions in Latvia and the region.

Classification

Confidence: High

The article explicitly describes intensified malicious cyber attacks targeting Latvian public sector websites and infrastructure, linked by official Latvian IT cybersecurity authority Cert.lv to pro-Russian politically motivated hacktivist activity. The source is authoritative and specifies the attacks' nature, timeline, and motivation clearly, warranting high confidence classification as aggressor activity. No defensive preparations or responses beyond blocking attack sources are described.

Source URL

https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/20.08.2024-cyber-attacks-on-public-sector-websites-in-latvia-tuesday.a565748

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: csv-import
Submitted: Feb 1, 2026, 00:14 UTC
Last updated: Nov 9, 2026, 06:58 UTC
Event time: Aug 20, 2024, 12:00 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

{
  "id": "75c71c8a-a258-48ca-94d4-e096395caa0f",
  "url": "https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/20.08.2024-cyber-attacks-on-public-sector-websites-in-latvia-tuesday.a565748",
  "source": "csv-import",
  "status": "approved",
  "category": "Cyber & Information Warfare",
  "subcategory": "Cyber Attacks",
  "incident_type": "Attacks on critical infrastructure (energy, transport, hospitals)",
  "country": "Latvia",
  "source_reliability": "C",
  "info_credibility": "3",
  "tags": [
    "cyber attack",
    "DDoS",
    "public sector",
    "Latvia",
    "Cert.lv",
    "LVRTC",
    "Russia",
    "hacktivists",
    "Ukraine aid",
    "offensive cyber operations"
  ],
  "nodes": [],
  "countries": [
    "Latvia"
  ],
  "where_text": "Cyberspace",
  "headline": null,
  "description": "Due to intensive cyber attacks, websites on Latvia's unified state platform experienced periodic malfunctions, slow operation, or inaccessibility on August 20, 2024, as reported by the Cabinet of Ministers. The attacks, ongoing since August 19, targeted websites of state institutions and transport sectors and were linked to tailored DDoS campaigns. Latvian IT security authority Cert.lv and LVRTC reported attempts to profile and adjust attacks, with tens of thousands of attack sources blocked. Cert.lv connects these attacks to Latvia's recent aid delivery to Ukraine and states that pro-Russian hacktivist groups have conducted similar politically motivated DDoS attacks in the Baltic and Nordic regions since 2022, marking Latvia as a long-term target in Russian cyber-operations.",
  "summary_short": "On August 20, 2024, Latvian public sector websites suffered cyber attacks causing intermittent malfunction and slow operation, linked to pro-Russian DDoS attacks.",
  "summary_extended": "On August 20, 2024, the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers reported ongoing intensive cyber attacks on public sector websites, causing periodic malfunctions, slow operation, and some inaccessibility of the unified state platform and other state institutions. The Latvian Information Technology Security Incident Prevention Authority 'Cert.lv' noted that since August 19, intensive and tailored denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks affected multiple public sector and transport sector websites, with some private sector resources also disrupted. The attacks caused slowed or intermittent availability of internet resources. Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC) detected attackers attempting to profile website performance to adjust attack parameters. LVRTC blocked tens of thousands of unique attack sources over the two days. Cert.lv linked the attacks to Latvia's aid package to Ukraine and noted a wave of politically motivated DDoS attacks by pro-Russian hacktivist groups targeting Baltic and Nordic countries since early 2022. The incident reflects ongoing Russian cyber aggression aimed at undermining state institutions in Latvia and the region.",
  "actor_primary": "pro-Russian hacktivist groups",
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": "Latvia",
  "location_region": "",
  "location_coordinates_lat": 56.879635,
  "location_coordinates_lon": 24.603189,
  "location_precision": "Regional",
  "is_aggressor_signal": true,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "The article explicitly describes intensified malicious cyber attacks targeting Latvian public sector websites and infrastructure, linked by official Latvian IT cybersecurity authority Cert.lv to pro-Russian politically motivated hacktivist activity. The source is authoritative and specifies the attacks' nature, timeline, and motivation clearly, warranting high confidence classification as aggressor activity. No defensive preparations or responses beyond blocking attack sources are described.",
  "event_time_utc": "2024-08-20T12:00:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": null,
  "event_time_confidence": "pm24h",
  "created_at": "2026-02-01T00:14:37.071Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T06:58:21.434Z",
  "reliability_band": "strong",
  "location_precision_band": "regional",
  "time_precision_band": "within_24h",
  "severity_band": "moderate",
  "attribution_confidence_band": "high",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: StrongSeverity: ModerateAttribution: HighSingle sourceTime: Same dayLocation: Regional

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

Aug 20, 2024, 12:00 UTC

Event time confidence

pm24h

Location

Latvia

Primary actor

pro-Russian hacktivist groups

Country

Latvia

Countries

Latvia

Tags

cyber attack, DDoS, public sector, Latvia, Cert.lv, LVRTC, Russia, hacktivists, Ukraine aid, offensive cyber operations

Loading signal...

{ "id": "75c71c8a-a258-48ca-94d4-e096395caa0f", "url": "https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/20.08.2024-cyber-attacks-on-public-sector-websites-in-latvia-tuesday.a565748", "source": "csv-import", "status": "approved", "category": "Cyber & Information Warfare", "subcategory": "Cyber Attacks", "incident_type": "Attacks on critical infrastructure (energy, transport, hospitals)", "country": "Latvia", "source_reliability": "C", "info_credibility": "3", "tags": [ "cyber attack", "DDoS", "public sector", "Latvia", "Cert.lv", "LVRTC", "Russia", "hacktivists", "Ukraine aid", "offensive cyber operations" ], "nodes": [], "countries": [ "Latvia" ], "where_text": "Cyberspace", "headline": null, "description": "Due to intensive cyber attacks, websites on Latvia's unified state platform experienced periodic malfunctions, slow operation, or inaccessibility on August 20, 2024, as reported by the Cabinet of Ministers. The attacks, ongoing since August 19, targeted websites of state institutions and transport sectors and were linked to tailored DDoS campaigns. Latvian IT security authority Cert.lv and LVRTC reported attempts to profile and adjust attacks, with tens of thousands of attack sources blocked. Cert.lv connects these attacks to Latvia's recent aid delivery to Ukraine and states that pro-Russian hacktivist groups have conducted similar politically motivated DDoS attacks in the Baltic and Nordic regions since 2022, marking Latvia as a long-term target in Russian cyber-operations.", "summary_short": "On August 20, 2024, Latvian public sector websites suffered cyber attacks causing intermittent malfunction and slow operation, linked to pro-Russian DDoS attacks.", "summary_extended": "On August 20, 2024, the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers reported ongoing intensive cyber attacks on public sector websites, causing periodic malfunctions, slow operation, and some inaccessibility of the unified state platform and other state institutions. The Latvian Information Technology Security Incident Prevention Authority 'Cert.lv' noted that since August 19, intensive and tailored denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks affected multiple public sector and transport sector websites, with some private sector resources also disrupted. The attacks caused slowed or intermittent availability of internet resources. Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC) detected attackers attempting to profile website performance to adjust attack parameters. LVRTC blocked tens of thousands of unique attack sources over the two days. Cert.lv linked the attacks to Latvia's aid package to Ukraine and noted a wave of politically motivated DDoS attacks by pro-Russian hacktivist groups targeting Baltic and Nordic countries since early 2022. The incident reflects ongoing Russian cyber aggression aimed at undermining state institutions in Latvia and the region.", "actor_primary": "pro-Russian hacktivist groups", "target_primary": null, "location_text": "Latvia", "location_region": "", "location_coordinates_lat": 56.879635, "location_coordinates_lon": 24.603189, "location_precision": "Regional", "is_aggressor_signal": true, "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL", "is_hybrid_war_signal": true, "classification_complete": true, "hybrid_signal_complete": true, "classification_confidence": "High", "classification_rationale": "The article explicitly describes intensified malicious cyber attacks targeting Latvian public sector websites and infrastructure, linked by official Latvian IT cybersecurity authority Cert.lv to pro-Russian politically motivated hacktivist activity. The source is authoritative and specifies the attacks' nature, timeline, and motivation clearly, warranting high confidence classification as aggressor activity. No defensive preparations or responses beyond blocking attack sources are described.", "event_time_utc": "2024-08-20T12:00:00.000Z", "end_time_utc": null, "event_time_confidence": "pm24h", "created_at": "2026-02-01T00:14:37.071Z", "updated_at": "2026-11-09T06:58:21.434Z", "reliability_band": "strong", "location_precision_band": "regional", "time_precision_band": "within_24h", "severity_band": "moderate", "attribution_confidence_band": "high", "attribution_basis": "single_source" }