Lithuania’s FM says personal data stolen in massive state database breach

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has confirmed that his personal data was among hundreds of thousands of records stolen from the country’s Centre of Registers, in a breach now being investigated as a potential act of foreign-directed cyber intrusion, LRT reports.

“Yes, and also those of family members. The data held in the register,” Budrys told reporters on Saturday, acknowledging that sensitive personal information had been compromised.

He warned that the scale and nature of the breach suggest the material could be leveraged against the state.

Authorities are investigating unauthorised access to more than 600,000 entries from the national real estate register, including personal identification codes and property ownership details — a trove of data that officials say carries significant national security implications.

Budrys said the incident is not being treated as an isolated cybercrime. “According to what the services are assessing, the data has been intercepted and is in the possession of hostile actors,” he said, signalling concern that the information may now be outside Lithuania’s control.

The breach has sent ripples through the country’s political and security establishment. President Gitanas Nausėda is among those affected, and he said earlier this week that the incident could be described as “the work of hostile states”. The Chief of Defence Raimundas Vaikšnoras, several ministers, lawmakers, business figures and intelligence officials are also believed to have had their data exposed.

According to the State Security Department, led by Remigijus Bridikis, the intrusions originated from abroad after attackers allegedly gained access through compromised accounts belonging to employees of the Migration Department. Officials say the breach was only uncovered after a citizen questioned why authorities were reviewing their property records.

Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovič said the investigation suggests the data theft occurred earlier this year, with detection only coming in early April — raising questions over how long the system was exposed before alarms were raised.

While investigators have not yet publicly attributed responsibility, officials are increasingly framing the incident as part of a broader pattern of state-linked cyber activity targeting sensitive government and personal data across Europe.

By Aghakazim Guliyev