Lead: Early this morning a coordinated cyberattack knocked the national tax agency’s online portal offline, leaving millions of taxpayers unable to log in, file returns or make payments. The disruption, centered on the capital’s data centre but felt nationwide, comes days before a major filing deadline. Authorities have declared an emergency and opened an immediate investigation.
What happened
At 06:15 local time users began reporting access failures. Within an hour the portal was effectively down: account dashboards disappeared, submission functions stalled and payment gateways were unreachable. Banks and financial institutions noticed a sudden spike in customer calls; several call centres switched to contingency staffing to cope with demand.
Forensic teams from the tax agency, the national CERT and outside contractors are combing system logs. Investigators have found signs of lateral movement—patterns that suggest the attackers moved across internal networks—and evidence of remote-control tools. Officials say they are tracing possible command-and-control infrastructure while working to isolate compromised systems.
How officials are responding
The ministry instituted emergency procedures: core services are being prioritised for restoration, compromised assets are being isolated, and integrity checks on taxpayer records are underway. To reduce immediate disruption, temporary manual filing windows have been set up and support hotlines have extended hours. International partners have been notified and are sharing intelligence with domestic teams.
Impact so far
The outage has disrupted filing activity at a critical moment and raised questions about data integrity and potential delays. Help desks report heavy call volumes; some transactions may need manual processing until systems are verified. Banks and businesses are bracing for processing slowdowns as customers seek alternatives.
What investigators say
Officials describe the incident as a coordinated intrusion and are working to confirm the attack vector and estimate recovery time. Forensic teams continue to map affected systems and identify the full scope of the breach. The government says updates will be released as investigations yield actionable findings; a public briefing is planned later in the day.
Practical advice for taxpayers
The tax agency has asked users to keep copies of all documentation and transaction receipts until services are fully restored. If you have pending payments, contact your bank for temporary alternatives and follow official agency channels for the latest guidance—avoid relying on unverified social media posts. Authorities are racing to restore services, verify data integrity and determine who’s responsible. Expect intermittent updates from the tax agency and cybersecurity authorities throughout the day.