Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity) said in an interview with Latvian Radio that the threat e-mails contain a slightly different text than the one received last week, but their content is violent.
“The first signals were at 1:40 at night, authorities contacted the police but I have received assurances from [State Police Chief Armands] Ruks that they are an equivalent low-risk threat. It continues also in Estonia and Lithuania, to some extent we predict in Poland as well. The services of these countries work in close cooperation,” Kozlovskis said.
State Police Chief Armands Ruks, in an interview with Latvian Television on Monday morning, said that the threat emails were sent out to more than 300 addresses, but this morning around 6 there was another wave from another e-mail but with the same text. Estonia also received similar threat emails during the weekend – they were sent to educational institutions, airports, and courts.
“We are facing a similar cyber attack across the Baltics right now. Above all, peace must be maintained,“ the State Police Chief noted.
While the threat level remains low, this does not mean these e-mails should not be paid attention to.
“Someone is deliberately disturbing our normal lives,” Kozlovskis said. “We are living in a real hybrid war situation - that we need to be aware of.”
The purpose of these threat letters is to destabilize the situation in Latvia, to cause a new wave of anxiety, but the minister called for the public not to give in to fear.
As reported earlier by LSM, about 300 schools across Latvia received emails on October 10 about possible security risks, and about 400 kindergartens received similar threat emails overnight to October 11.
