The South American nation’s government confirmed it had addressed two separate cybersecurity incidents earlier this month, involving sensitive information from judicial and health authorities. However, the official statement has drawn sharp criticism after evidence emerged that stolen data has already been published online.
On June 22, a hacking collective known as CyberTeam posted screenshots on social media revealing documents from the agency that oversees magistrates’ conduct, as well as personal health records from the national AIDS program. Hours later, the Ministry of Technology and Information acknowledged that breaches had been detected at these two institutions on June 14, and that immediate response measures were taken.
“Both incidents are contained, and analysis is ongoing to fully mitigate and restore normal operations,” the ministry declared in a brief statement. The announcement, however, was met with widespread derision online.
“If the data has already been exposed, what else will they contain?” one social media user asked. Another questioned the timing: “after they took all the data??”
The agency responsible for judicial oversight did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
Digital security experts warn that such incidents highlight deeper systemic problems. “This issue will continue. This is simply proof of the structural inability or incapacity of the Paraguayan state to define effective policies regarding technology in general,” said Luis Benitez, a cybersecurity professional. “In the event of a data breach, there is no possibility of containment, since the data has already spread across the deep web.”
This latest attack comes amid a series of similar incidents targeting Paraguayan institutions. Earlier this month, the government revealed it had refused to pay a $7.4 million ransom to another hacking group that had accessed citizenship records. That group subsequently released the stolen information after a payment deadline passed.
The string of breaches prompted authorities to launch a national cybersecurity strategy just last week. Another recent attack was attributed to Flax Typhoon, which Paraguayan and U.S. officials have linked to Chinese state-sponsored actors.