Belgium tax agency shuts online portal after cyberattack

Belgium's Federal Public Service Finance temporarily shut its online tax portal and several other digital services after a cyberattack, the agency said on Wednesday, October 28.

The agency said it had no indications that data had been breached or stolen, while stressing that the incident remained under investigation. That statement does not establish that a breach has been ruled out.

Precautionary shutdown interrupts tax services

The services were taken offline as a precaution to limit risks and allow technical work to secure the agency's systems, according to the statement reported by Reuters. A large portion of its other applications remained fully or partly available.

The affected online tax portal is MyMinFin. RTBF documented an error page displayed by the service during the disruption.

Filing deadlines will be extended

FPS Finance said tax-filing deadlines would be extended because of the disruption. It had not announced a replacement date, saying that information would follow as soon as possible.

The initial account did not identify the attacker, the technique used or the number of people affected. The agency said it was examining the consequences and working to restore the affected services.

Sources

Reuters: Belgium tax agency hit by cyberattack, shuts online portal; RTBF: Digital services affected and the MyMinFin error-page screenshot.