Spain’s State Public Employment Service is victim of cyberattack

A ransomware attack has affected IT systems at Spain’s State Public Employment Service (SEPE).

A statement released by the SEPE said “The SEPE is being subjected to a security incident during which the availability of its information and communication systems has been affected. The first urgent actions carried out have been carried out as quickly as possible and with the main objective of containing the incident, isolating and, therefore, mitigating its impact on the SEPE systems.”

The attack is particularly significant as the SEPE systems house the data for the nation’s four million people who are unemployed as a result of the economy downfall caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s also the latest of a number of cyberattacks against Spain over the course of the pandemic.

Steve Forbes, Government Cybersecurity Expert at Nominet, said “The cyberattack on the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) in Spain highlights just how prolific and problematic ransomware attacks have become, especially against governments. In Spain’s case, this is one in a growing list of attacks over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is particularly significant because although no personal data was stolen, SEPE is responsible for benefit payments to the four million people currently unemployed in Spain.”