Cyberattacks and Ethnically-Fuelled Harassment Mark Start of Year

Public institutions faced cyberattacks as countries battled misinformation amid political crises in the region.

Public institutions in the region faced significant cyberattacks in late January. The Romanian National Directorate for Cyber Security’s website suffered a DDoS attack while hackers breached the Romanian Chamber of Deputies’ database, extracting personal and parliamentary data. A major ransomware attack targeted Romania Soft Company’s servers, affecting 25 hospitals.

In Albania, social media platforms became tools for endangering citizens' lives, with cases of stalking, blackmail and threats. In Hungary, pro-government media outlets attempted to cover up a scandal involving a pedophile pardon. In North Macedonia, misinformation about passport issuance escalated, causing chaos and public outrage.

Montenegro saw a surge in hate speech, particularly targeting ethnic minorities, while in Belgrade, Serbia, AI-generated pornographic content created a frenzy in schools. In Turkey, lawyer Feyza Altun faced harassment and legal action for her social media posts criticizing Sharia law, highlighting challenges to freedom of expression ahead of local elections.

In Kosovo, in February, online media continue spreading misinformation, ethnic tension was fuelled by inflammatory narratives and public figures face reputational damage due to false accusations and misrepresentations.

Public institutions hit by cyberattacks

The Romanian National Directorate for Cyber Security’s website faced a DDoS attack, leaving it inaccessible for about 30 minutes in late-January. Meanwhile, hackers breached the Romanian Chamber of Deputies’ database, extracting approximately 250 gigabytes of personal and parliamentary data. The Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitization confirmed the attack and DIICOT initiated a criminal investigation.

Despite the breach, the minister assured that no files were copied, but admitted Romania was facing approximately 25,000 cyber attacks. A ransomware attack targeted Romania Soft Company’s servers affected 25 hospitals with attackers demanding 125,000 euros in ransom. Hospitals were forced to disconnect from the internet and operate with backup databases, causing delays in patient care. Although the ransom was not paid, access to the servers was restored by February 14. The National Directorate for Cyber Security confirmed that no data was stolen while Romania Soft Company filed a criminal complaint with DIICOT.

On February 6, the City Administration of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, informed the public via Facebook that the email server of the City Administration was down due to a hacking attack. “Employees in the City Administration cannot access the official email service and the competent services are working to eliminate these problems,” it said in an announcement.

Croatia’s agency for supervision of financial services, HANFA, fell victim to a cyberattack that left the official website and the agency’s other online services on January 23 completely unavailable. The agency filed criminal charges against an unknown perpetrator. Following an investigation, the agency on February 21 said no sensitive data was taken “from the internal agency system”, adding that there was no proof of a privacy breach.

Illustration: Unsplash.com

Stalking, blackmail and threats in Albania

In February, Albania witnessed a concerning trend of digital violations, primarily manifested through threats, blackmail and stalking on social media platforms. One case involved a 33-year-old citizen from Vlora arrested for online stalking and creating a fake profile using a 21-year-old girl’s personal information, leading to an ongoing investigation by the Prosecution office. Another incident saw a 39-year-old man arrested for causing the suicide of a 27-year-old girl by posting an intimate photo of her on TikTok, prompting investigations by the Prosecution.

Two members of the Albanian LGBT community, Alba Ahmetaj and Edlira Mara, received threatening messages on Facebook due to their activism and ongoing legal battle for shared parenthood recognition. A 27-year-old man was arrested in Tirana for blackmailing three minor girls through social networks, coercing them into sending intimate photos and engaging in sexual activities.

Another 22-year-old Albanian citizen was arrested for blackmailing individuals after posting their personal content on fake social media profiles and demanding money to remove it.

Hungary’s pro-govt media cover up paedophile pardon

In Hungary, pro-government media outlets were involved in incidents of content manipulation and hate speech. President Katalin Novák resigned on February 10 following mounting pressure on her for granting a presidential pardon to Endre K., the deputy principal of a school in an orphanage near Budapest who helped cover up paedophilia.

Following the pardon, pro-government newspapers like Világgazdaság and SzegedMa initially reported on a letter Endre K. posted on Facebook but later removed the articles. In response to a protest organised by internet content creators to highlight flaws in the country’s child protection system, Magyar Nemzet and Origo published a list of the openly gay people of over 100 public figures supporting the protest, falsely labeling it an LGBT demonstration.

Hungary’s Directorate General for Child Protection removed an article and image gallery from its website dating back to February 2016 that mentioned Győző Orbán Jr. and Csaba Böjte in connection with the orphanage, alongside Endre K., the man pardoned by the President.

False passport drama in North Macedonia leads to privacy breach

In North Macedonia, digital violations regarding the issue of passports and misinformation escalated in February. First, Facebook users misconstrued news titled “Nearly 100,000 Kosovo citizens applied for passports from the beginning of the year”, about Kosovo passport applications, falsely claiming they were for North Macedonian passports. The news articles were related to the situation in Kosovo where many citizens applied for passports after the country was granted a Schengen visa waiver from the beginning of the year. This misinformation led to a conspiracy theory about Kosovo Albanians altering the political scene, despite fact-checkers debunking the claim.

Government officials furthered the issues by unintentionally disclosing citizens’ personal data in promotional passport videos amid a crisis caused by document name changes, as reported by Radio Free Europe.

The videos were released by institutions during a passport crisis in North Macedonia triggered by the expiry of documents using the country’s old name, Republic of Macedonia, on February 12. This led to chaos at crowded document issuance centres and drew significant criticism towards the government. Seeking to improve its reputation, the government showcased the passport issuance process, inadvertently exposing citizens’ personal data.

In addition, a Facebook user manipulated a TV station’s logo to spread false information about Greek passport requirements, exacerbating public outrage. The misinformation falsely claimed that Greece had demanded colour changes to North Macedonian passports, from red to blue. With thousands of citizens unable to leave the country due to their expired passports, the crisis incited public outrage.

An official of the Ministry of the Interior takes a new passport to issue it to a citizen at a police station in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, 08 February 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

Ethnic tensions heat up social media in Montenegro

During the last month, hate speech on ethnic grounds emerged as the most prevalent digital violation in Montenegro. A controversy surrounding Marija Vukovic, an Olympic athlete who mistakenly referred to a symbol on the Montenegrin flag as a chicken instead of an eagle, sparked online hate speech, targeting her Serbian origin and refugee status.

Montenegrin politician Vladislav Dajkovic further fuelled threats towards Muslims in Montenegro through his social media response to the Bosniak Party’s proposal to recognize the 1923 massacre of Bosniaks in Sahovici (nowadays Tomasevo) as genocide. Dajkovic’s video accused the Bosniak Party of attempting to brand Serbs as a “genocidal nation” and he cast doubt on the 1995 Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia.

Minors were also involved in threats towards the Muslim population, as evidenced by a student from a Bar elementary school sending a threatening message, “Knife, wire, Srebrenica”, to Muslim peers via a Viber group.

Activist Aleksandar Zekovic also faced hate speech when he protested against naming a street in Podgorica after Pavle Bulatovic, a high official during Yugoslavia’s disintegration responsible for deporting Bosnian refugees who were subsequently killed in Republika Srpska, Bosnia.

Montenegrin online media also committed serious violations in reporting a tragic incident involving family killings and suicide, sensationalizing the motive as the “health condition” of the slain boy and publishing obituaries with sensationalist titles and details about the surviving child’s escape.

AI-Generated Pornography Creates Frenzy in Serbia

In Belgrade 13-year-old boys were suspected of using AI apps to create nude images of their female classmates and teachers at a Belgrade school and then sharing them in chat groups.

Teenage girls in two elementary schools in New Belgrade, as well as their teachers, were victims of the use of the AI program. Police tracked down those who misused the images and videos and spread pornographic content, thanks to the parents of the girls. Each case was discovered by the parents looking at the photos. Parents and teachers were outraged, but, according to a BIRN investigation, the case is just one among many across the region.

Turkish lawyer harassed ahead of local elections

With local elections looming on March 31, Turkey witnessed significant turmoil, particularly targeting public figures. Renowned lawyer Feyza Altun faced online harassment and brief police detention due to her social media posts critiquing Sharia law. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated an investigation into Altun, alleging incitement of hatred through her online activities.

Despite her immediate release, she still faces restrictions and legal proceedings. Moreover, Altun was sued by the Turkish religious authority, Diyanet, for purportedly insulting religious values on social media. This underscores the intricate landscape of freedom of expression in Turkey, where state institutions and religious authorities wield significant power in policing dissent.

Istanbul Municipality terminated Umit Kaya, a media worker, over allegations that she accepted bribes to influence social media content in favour of a political rival. Kaya worked at IBB’s Media Company and controlled popular X accounts such as Buyuksehir Calisiyor [Municipality Works], Istanbul Haber [Istanbul News] and IBB News [IBB Haber]. She was axed after it was claimed she received financial benefits from Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s rival Murat Kurum and his party ahead of local elections on March 31. Three social media accounts on February 20 suddenly started to support Kurum and criticized Imamoglu’s administration. It is reported that the IBB will file a criminal complaint against Kaya.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been covered by Elma Selimovic, Aida Trepanić and Azem Kurtic, Croatia by Leo Buljan, Romania by Adina Florea, North Macedonia by Bojan Stojkovski and Goce Trpkovski, Kosovo by Flaka Fazlija, Montenegro by Djurdja Radulovic, Albania by Nensi Bogdani, Serbia by Tijana Uzelac and Kalina Simic, Turkey by Hamdi Firat Buyuk.