Kremlin propaganda aired on Balticom TV as a result of cyberattack

RIGA - Kremlin propaganda content was broadcast on Balticom television channels for a while on Thursday as a result of a cyberattack. 

Ivars Abolins, chair of the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), said on social media that Balticom was hit by a cyberattack on Thursday morning and that as a result of this, the company lost control of the programs it broadcasts on its channels.

During the cyberattack, all the TV programs broadcast by Balticom were replaced by Russian propaganda content - the Kremlin's May 9 parade. 

The company's iTV service has been suspended at the moment and the incident is being investigated, Abolins informed. 

According to NEPLP's information, the Balticom operator's own infrastructure has not been compromised. The cyberattack was launched against a content supplier outside Latvia and Balticom rebroadcast this altered content. "The clarification of the situation is ongoing," Abolins said. 

Representatives of IT security incident response institution Cert.lv told LETA that Cert.lv is investigating the incident in cooperation with Balticom and that information obtained so far suggests that the Balticom operator's own infrastructure has not been compromised.

The attack targeted a content supplier outside Latvia and Balticom rebroadcast the altered content.

According to the Cert.lv representatives, "this cyberattack did not target Latvian infrastructure, but it was part of Russia's hybrid warfare, and such provocations will most likely continue also in the future, so it is necessary to be prepared for them".