Kärnten blocks access to state website from many countries

Kärnten’s state government website can now be accessed only from the European Union and selected other European countries following a 2022 cyberattack, ORF reports.

The administration was paralysed for several days after hackers from a group called Black Cat gained access when an employee opened an electronic message. The recovery cost almost six million euros, while data belonging to citizens and employees later appeared on the darknet.

To make further attacks more difficult, the state uses geoblocking. The system checks the geographical location associated with a computer’s IP address and blocks connections from many countries considered possible sources of hacker attacks.

Christian Inzko, an IT expert in the state administration, told ORF that connections are approved when an IP address is assigned to a country in the European Union. Access is also allowed from European countries with a legal system considered similar to Austria’s, including Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom.

Countries with an eastern past, such as Albania, are excluded, Inzko said. Individual exceptions can be granted through a strict approval process, but the basic rule remains that the website is accessible only from the EU.