site.btaDirectorate for Combating Organised Crime Protects Upcoming Elections' Digital Infrastructure

Vladimir Dimitrov, head of Cybersecurity under the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime, told reporters here Monday morning that numerous government institutions have been involved in cybersecurity issues around the upcoming local elections on October 29. Dimitrov expressed confidence that his Directorate will be able to handle the challenge and added that new measures have been implemented to protect the digital infrastructure involved in the election process.

Referring to the growing number of IBAN swapping cases, which constitutes financial fraud by compromising inter-company correspondence, Dimitrov said those can be traced back to Nigerian organized crime groups entering the emails of Bulgarian companies. The hackers then replace the bank account to which one company is supposed to send payment to another company.

Generally, the losses amount to EUR 20 to 50,000, however, a Bulgarian company would report losing millions of leva two or three times a year. Dimitrov attributes this to the lack of knowledge among Bulgarian businesses about this type of fraud.

Dimitrov noted that there has been a steady and gradual increase in all cybercrimes in recent years. He noted that investment scams via online investment platforms have also increased, as well as cyber scams related to buying a car from abroad.