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Moldova‘s government targeted by a phishing scam

Senior Journalist

Updated on: 09 January 2023

Moldova phishing attack — Image by Shutterstock.

Attackers flooded Moldova‘s government institutions with fake emails containing malicious links.

A phishing attack targeting public institutions in Moldova was uncovered by the country‘s Information Technology and Cyber Security Service (STISC). According to the authorities, they discovered 1330 malicious emails sent to the email addresses of government and public institutions.

Crooks target users with Moldova‘s .md country code top-level domains. The STISC claims that malicious emails carry a message saying the government domains are about to expire. To avoid losing the domain name, victims are requested to click on a link that supposedly allows them to pay for domain services.

The government of Moldova suffered from several cyberattacks last year. In one attack, cybercriminals targeted 80 information systems, platforms, and public portals, in the country. The pro-Russian group Killnet was among the prime suspects behind the attack.

In another attack, someone setup up a website called Moldova Leaks and published damaging private exchanges of several prominent political figures. The leaks caused a major political scandal in the country.

Moldova is an Eastern European nation wedged between Romania and Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainian refugees entered Moldova after Russian troops poured into Ukraine last February. Russia supports the unrecognized state of Transnistria, which lies in the eastern part of Moldova.