Techs working overtime to restore land registry website

Technicians are working “feverishly” to restore the operation of the land registry office website following an apparent cyberattack, director Elikkos Elia said on Friday.

“Technicians will be working today, tonight and over the weekend and hopefully we will be able to move forward with a gradual restoration,” he told the Cyprus News Agency.

“We haven’t made the decision yet and I think it’s possible that we will decide on Sunday whether we will be able to operate gradually,” he added, stressing it is difficult to say whether it will be back to normal by Monday.

Asked what kind of attack the Land Registry portal has received, Elia said that there are some suspicions, adding that it seems that the technicians carrying out the checks could not exactly identify the location of the problem. “They will have to continue the checks to locate them,” he said.

Elia said he would not confirm nor deny whether a ransom had been requested, adding that it would be best to allow the investigation to run its course.

In the meantime, he said that he will remain in contact with the interior ministry.

“It looks like we will need a little more time,” he said. “I can’t say with certainty exactly when we will be operational, even if it is gradual and when”.

Expressing the hope that the gate will reopen as soon as possible, Elia said that “we are ready to bring colleagues in on Sunday to do some tests.

“We understand what the system means to the economy, it is vital, and we hope to be able to bring it back to normal,” he finally said.