Land registry website to be fully restored next week

The land registry website should be fully restored next week, as technicians have been grappling with a hack which took place last Wednesday.

Land registration director Elikkos Elia told the Cyprus News Agency on Monday that the website will be restored gradually with IT teams working intensely to try and resolve the problem.

“Our efforts are going towards restarting some operations this week and expand this the following week, so we are fully operational,” he said.

One of the first website functions Elia is aiming to have restored is the filing of sales documents, which he said he hopes can be done by Tuesday or Wednesday on a trial basis in Nicosia. This would be extended across the country if all goes well on the trial.

Other the immediate services the department wants to try and offer include transfers, mortgages and liens, for instance being able to file a deed of sale or a memo against a person.

More time will be needed to set up the land registration portal to exchange electronic data. Elia added they were waiting to hear from the experts on when that would be feasible.

Asked if there was any permanent damage to the site’s portal, he said it did not appear to be the case so far.

Asked about security measures the land registry had taken to avoid such attacks, Elia noted they had the same measures as every other government department. In some cases “invisible enemies are one step ahead of us.”

He expressed certainty that the IT department and deputy research ministry would take more steps around that.

“What happened to us I believe will help cement the Republic of Cyprus for its e-government.”

Tech specialists have been working overtime to try and restore the site.