Rats disrupt provision of several Estonian e-services

TALLINN - The Estonian Information System Authority (RIA) learned at around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday that disruptions had occurred in the work of an underground cable in Harju County, on-the-spot checks revealed that rats had caused severe damage to the cable.

Due to the extent of the damage, repairs were started immediately to prevent further damage. According to the information available, the broken cable affected the functioning of the eesti.ee state portal and services of the health insurance fund. The website of Eesti Loto was still down at around 8 p.m.

Services provided by the Information System Authority and the health insurance fund, including the issuing of digital prescriptions, resumed at around 7:30 p.m.

Head of the state network department Kaido Plovits said that while the situation that had emerged was impermissible, the state network was unfortunately not fully protected from such incidents.

"As the cable had been severely damaged, we had to start repairs immediately, otherwise the ensuing damage would have been much greater. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and we're doing our best to fully restore services quickly."

The state network is increasingly building parallel data exchange links to prevent such disruptions. Plovits said that normally, the Information System Authority informs people about irregular maintenance works well in advance; however, the disturbances on Wednesday had to be addressed immediately.

If purchasing vital medical products with a digital prescription is not possible due to irregularities, the health insurance board recommends to go to the emergency room. In case of a prolonged disturbance, the doctor providing treatment can also issue a paper prescription.

No interruptions occurred in the use of ID cards or mobile ID. The Information System Authority is working to resolve the issue and will provide additional information at the earliest opportunity.