A PRACTICAL CYBERSECURITY GUIDE FOR LATVIA
Protect your accounts, money and personal information with clear advice and lessons from real cyber incidents in Latvia.
Explore the guide ↓We want to make cybersecurity understandable and useful for everyone in Latvia.
Cyberattacks are not just a problem for technology companies. A stolen password, a convincing scam or a data leak can affect anyone’s privacy, finances and daily life. This project shares practical knowledge that helps people recognise risks and make safer choices online.
No single tip can prevent every attack. A few good habits, used consistently, can make it much harder for criminals to take over an account or misuse personal information.
Recent cases show how cyber incidents can affect public services, businesses and ordinary people. Each figure below links to a report from CERT.LV or LSM.
RANSOMWARE · DATA LEAK
A ransomware attack affected the company’s IT infrastructure. CERT.LV reported that 44 GB of data had been published, including internal documents and technical information. The total amount accessed may have been larger.
Read the LSM report ↗UNAUTHORISED ACCESS · PERSONAL DATA
An August cyberattack exposed historical payment receipt data relating to about 1.2 million people and 200,000 companies. CSDD said customer passwords, email addresses, phone numbers and bank details were not affected.
CERT.LV incident update ↗VULNERABILITY · CONTACT DATA
A vulnerability in a public-facing statistics system was used to access names, email addresses and phone numbers for 697 business representatives and 34 officials. CERT.LV said most of the information was already available in public registers.
CERT.LV September cyber weather ↗WEBSITE ATTACK · CUSTOMER DATA
LSM reported that data belonging to around 7% of TSC customers was taken during an attack on the appliance repair company’s website. The website was temporarily closed while the company responded.
Read the LSM report ↗These are reported incidents, not a complete list of cybercrime in Latvia. Data and investigations may change as authorities publish updates.
Find the latest cybersecurity news, official alerts and practical help from trusted Latvian sources.
Latvia’s public media reports on cyber incidents and explains what they mean for people and organisations.
Read LSM ↗CERT.LVOFFICIAL CYBER INCIDENT RESPONSELatvia’s cyber incident response institution. Find current alerts, prevention advice and incident support.
Visit CERT.LV ↗If you suspect an incident, use the contact details and guidance published on the official CERT.LV website.
These steps cannot remove every risk, but they can reduce the chance of an account takeover and limit damage if something happens.
Choose a long password or passphrase that is hard to guess. Do not use your name, birthday, “123456” or small variations of one password. A password manager can create and store unique passwords. Protect the manager with a strong master password and two-step sign-in.
START WITH EMAIL, BANKING AND SOCIAL ACCOUNTSThis adds another check at sign-in, so a stolen password alone is less likely to be enough. Enable it for email, banking and social accounts. When available, use an authenticator app or security key. Never share sign-in or recovery codes with anyone.
NEVER READ A LOGIN CODE TO A CALLERUrgency, threats and unexpected prizes are common pressure tactics. Check the sender’s full address and the actual website domain before opening a link. Do not open unexpected attachments. For banking or public services, type the official address yourself or use the official app. Verify unusual requests using a phone number you already trust.
IF IT FEELS URGENT, TAKE A MOMENT TO VERIFYUpdates for your phone, computer, browser and apps often fix known security weaknesses. Turn on automatic updates where practical. Download apps from official stores and remove apps you no longer use.
UPDATES CLOSE KNOWN SECURITY GAPSThink before posting your address, phone number, birthday, documents or travel plans. Review privacy settings and which apps can access your location, camera and contacts. Public details can help criminals make scams more convincing.
CHECK PRIVACY SETTINGS REGULARLYBack up important photos and documents to a trusted cloud account or a separate drive. Check that you can restore the files. A backup can help if your device is lost, damaged or hit by ransomware.
KEEP A COPY SEPARATE FROM YOUR DEVICEUse a screen lock, enable device-finding features and keep your phone with you. On public Wi-Fi, do not ignore browser security warnings or enter payment details on unfamiliar pages. Use mobile data or a trusted network for sensitive tasks.
LOCK YOUR SCREEN WHEN YOU STEP AWAYIf you entered a password on a suspicious page, change it on the real site using a trusted device. Sign out unknown sessions, enable multi-factor authentication and check account recovery details. If money may be involved, call your bank using its official number. Save the message and contact CERT.LV for guidance.
FAST ACTION CAN LIMIT THE DAMAGEThree things to do today:
Update your device, turn on multi-factor authentication for your email, and replace reused passwords on your most important accounts.
For official guidance and incident response, visit CERT.LV ↗.
This video was not made by our team. It is a helpful beginner-friendly example of cybersecurity and the kinds of online threats people should understand.
This video was created by Tech with Jono. It was not made by our team. We are sharing it as an external educational resource because it offers a helpful beginner-friendly example of cybersecurity.
View the original video on YouTube ↗