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Belgian tax agency FOD Financiën says cyberattack took MyMinfin offline

FOD Financiën says a cyberattack took MyMinfin offline, and some filings due October 31 now have until November 16, according to the agency.

Published
Exploitation
Not confirmed, FOD Financiën says there are no indications of a data breach and that the attack was stopped

What happened

Belgium’s finance and tax agency, FOD Financiën, says it took “several” digital services offline after a cyberattack. This account comes from The Register, the only outlet in the sources. The Register reports that the agency confirmed the attack on Wednesday. According to the agency, MyMinfin, its main online tax portal, and other online services are temporarily unavailable while initial investigations take place.

FOD Financiën said in a public announcement that the measure “helps limit the risks and makes it possible to carry out the necessary technical interventions to ensure the security of our systems.” This quote is reported by The Register.

The agency says: “At present, there are no indications that a data breach has occurred or that data has been compromised.” It adds that this aspect is still being investigated. It also says a large part of its other applications remain available with full or partial functionality (The Register).

According to The Register, spokesperson Francis Adyns told local news outlets that the attack was thwarted within hours and was unable to gain access to applications or data. Adyns told Nieuwsblad that the attack “could not be sufficiently expanded within our environment to take over applications or gain access to data.” He said that potentially infected elements were isolated, and that this took MyMinfin, Tax-on-web and Biztax offline. Adyns also said the services must be restored in an isolated environment and that this requires considerable time.

The following details are not confirmed:

  • who carried out the attack
  • the entry point or method
  • whether any data was accessed, beyond the agency’s statement that there are no indications of it

All of these statements come from the agency itself. No independent verification is available.

Am I affected?

  • Online services: According to The Register, the agency’s spokesperson says MyMinfin, Tax-on-web and Biztax went offline.
  • Specific filers: The agency says the outage affects the October 31 extended deadline for filings on specific types of income. Its examples include sole traders and earnings from foreign companies. It says this deadline is moved to November 16.
  • Data: The agency says there are currently no indications that a data breach has occurred or that data has been compromised. It says it is still investigating.

What to do now

  1. Check whether your filing falls under the October 31 extended deadline for specific types of income. If it does, FOD Financiën says that deadline is now November 16 (The Register).
  2. Expect to submit once MyMinfin is available again. The agency says it should be back up and running by November 16 (The Register).
  3. Watch FOD Financiën’s own announcements for restoration updates and for any change to its finding on data.

Sources