Belgian tax authority takes MyMinfin offline after a cyberattack, some filing deadlines move to 16 November
The Federal Public Service Finance says the attack was stopped within hours and there are no signs that data was stolen, but restoring services will take time.
Belgium's Federal Public Service Finance (FOD Financiën) has been hit by a cyberattack. As a precaution, the agency took MyMinfin and several other digital services offline on Wednesday, leaving taxpayers temporarily unable to view or submit returns, VRT NWS reported. According to the agency, the measure limits the risks and allows room for technical interventions. Initially it gave no information about the nature of the attack itself.
Spokesperson Francis Adyns told Het Nieuwsblad that the attack was stopped within hours and could not spread far enough to take over applications or reach data, The Register writes. Potentially infected components were isolated, which also took Tax-on-web and Biztax offline alongside MyMinfin. The services now have to be rebuilt in an isolated environment, which Adyns said takes considerable time. A large share of the other applications continues to work fully or partially.
The attack affects the tax calendar. For returns with specific types of income, such as those of some self-employed people and income from foreign companies, the deadline normally ran until 31 October. It is being extended to 16 November, by which time MyMinfin should be working again, The Register reports. ITdaily places the attack alongside other recent incidents: earlier this week a breach at a software supplier left more than a hundred municipalities unable to sign digital documents.