Hellenic Post: Looking at the day after the cyber attack

Hellenic Post (ELTA) is on a road race to restore and upgrade the systems that were hit by the cyber attack on Sunday night. The most immediate and secure restoration of the full operation of the network is the first goal, as the stores are now open for a third day only for the distribution of mail and parcels. “Treating” the consequences of a malicious attack that appears to have been done with ransomware is not an easy task. After all, the shutdown was total from emails to commercial operating systems. According to the company, the data center was immediately isolated in order to protect the backup and personal data.

The assessment of the consequences and costs of the cyber attack, which has taken account receipts, mailing and financial services out for a third day, will be done at the end of this difficult race. Then valuable conclusions will be drawn about what exactly happened on Sunday night and where the Organization’s systems were found vulnerable.

The restart project is characterized by sources close to the process as particularly complex, as the company’s 2,500 terminals are tested and upgraded one by one. At the same time, the various subsystems are being upgraded serially, but in order to re-operate, at the end of the process, they must be “buttoned” together, in order for the switch of the trading system to go up again.

Research until the last minute

With the burden currently falling on the restoration and re-operation of the ELTA network, the investigation into the consequences of the malicious cyber attack on the critical systems of the Organization is proceeding. Meanwhile, the investigation of the incident has been undertaken by the National Intelligence Service and the Ministries of National Defense and Digital Governance, while a case file is expected to be formed by the Cybercrime Prosecution Directorate.

From the early hours of the morning, the countdown for submitting the reports related to the cyber attack to the independent authorities referred to by the Hellenic Post, ie the Personal Data Protection Authority and the National Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT), is on. This work, which is being carried out inhouse in partnership with the IT Security companies with which the Organization was already cooperating, will be in progress until the last minute in order to draw safe conclusions.

According to the latest official information, the targeted cyber attack was aimed at the encryption of the critical systems for the operational operation of ELTA. It started with zero-time malware, which was installed on a workstation and connected to a computer system controlled by a group of cybercriminals using the https reverse shell technique.

ELTA stores remained open from Monday, with the distribution of mail and parcels being normal, as it was easy to bypass the use of information systems. Until the problem is fully remedied, however, account receipts, mailing and financial services are not serviced.

Commitment to pensions

ELTA is committed, through their announcement, that all pensions will be paid to the beneficiaries on time, while every effort will also be made for the benefits to be paid on time. Also, that the accounts and correspondence of utilities are not affected and are served normally.

However, all these functions, except the financial ones, are normally served by ELTA Courier, as its systems were not affected by the cyber attack on the parent company.

Customers can send and receive parcels and envelopes seamlessly through the “Door-to-Door” service, both from the stores and from the ELTA Courier network, to send items abroad with the “Express Mail Service” services, “Special Priority Mail” and “Fast Parcel Service “, to plan their shipments, to control the progress of their order and to have the whole picture of their cooperation with ELTA Courier through the app.

Digital transformation

The long delay in the digitization of the Organization, which was the result of the financial crisis and the great liquidity difficulties faced by the company in previous years, did not allow ELTA to follow the great explosion of e-commerce. A lack that was reflected in the results of the company, while it was particularly felt at the beginning of the pandemic. At the beginning of 2019, it was in the red, with structures of past decades and negative equity, while it consumed almost 7 million euros a month.

The consolidation plan of ELTA, which was implemented about a year ago, in addition to the financial consolidation, is based on digital transformation actions at the level of infrastructure and applications, as well as at the level of customer service. This is a plan  of over 60 million euros to enter the digital age, with a horizon of 2025.

In particular, at the infrastructure level, in addition to the automation of sorting centers, robotic systems, the upgrading of internal systems, digitization also includes security upgrades. Provides for the introduction and implementation of architecture and security policies, Disaster Recovery and Cybersecurity, in order to ensure uninterrupted operation and business continuity.