What the Romanian water authority ransomware attack really shows

What the Romanian water authority ransomware attack really shows

When news broke that Romania’s National Water Management Authority had taken around 1,000 computers offline following a ransomware attack, the reaction was predictable. Headlines focused on the scale, the numbers, and the fact that BitLocker was used to encrypt systems, as reported by Tom’s Hardware. (link)

What received less attention was the more uncomfortable part of the story: this was not an exotic attack, nor a highly sophisticated one. It was a reminder of how fragile everyday digital operations still are, even in organizations that manage critical infrastructure.

Internal systems were affected. Email, databases, GIS platforms, Windows workstations. The systems people rely on to coordinate work, track data, and make decisions. Physical water distribution remained operational, handled manually, but the digital layer that supports planning and response was gone overnight.

That distinction matters more than it seems.

 

This is not just a public sector problem

It is tempting to treat incidents like this as isolated cases tied to bureaucracy or outdated public IT systems. In reality, the same patterns appear constantly in private organizations.

Ransomware does not require spectacular vulnerabilities. In many cases, it relies on access that already exists. A compromised account. A machine that was never properly segmented. A trusted tool used in the wrong hands.

The use of BitLocker in this attack is a good example. No foreign encryption tool. No obvious malware signature. Just a legitimate system feature, turned against the organization itself. From a defensive standpoint, that makes detection slower and recovery harder if proper controls are not in place.

For businesses, the impact is usually faster and more visible. Downtime translates directly into lost revenue. Clients notice. Partners lose confidence. Decisions are delayed because data is unavailable, not because systems are destroyed, but because access is gone.

 

Why prevention often fails in practice

Most organizations do not ignore security out of negligence. They underestimate how interconnected small weaknesses can become.

• A vulnerability scan done once a year.
• Employees who never received practical security training.
• Backup strategies that exist on paper but were never tested under pressure.
• Systems added over time, with no clear visibility of what is exposed and to whom.

Individually, none of these looks critical. Together, they form a path.

 

How we approach cybersecurity at Roweb

Our cybersecurity services are built around one idea: understanding how an attack would actually unfold in a specific environment, not how it should look in theory.

We start with vulnerability assessments and penetration testing that focus on real attack paths, not generic reports. The goal is to see what an attacker could reach, how far they could move, and what would stop them.

Because many incidents still start with human error, we also work on the human layer. Phishing simulations and awareness programs are designed to reflect real-world scenarios, not textbook examples. People tend to learn faster when the situation feels familiar.

We place strong emphasis on visibility. Attack surface discovery and ongoing audits help organizations understand what is exposed today, not what was exposed six months ago. Infrastructure changes. Security needs to keep up.

Finally, we plan for failure. Not because prevention is pointless, but because no system is infallible. Incident readiness, response planning, and recovery testing reduce chaos when something does go wrong.

 

The cost that rarely appears in headlines

In the case of the water authority, manual processes kept essential services running. Many companies do not have that safety net. When systems go down, work stops. Decisions stall. Trust erodes quietly and quickly.

Cybersecurity is often discussed as a technical expense. In practice, it is an operational one. It determines how long an organization can function when things stop working as expected.

 

A realistic takeaway

The ransomware attack on Romania’s water management authority was not about technology failing. It was about preparation being insufficient for the environment we already operate in.

Organizations that invest in understanding their exposure, training their people, and continuously testing their defenses are not immune to attacks. They are, however, far better positioned to respond without losing control.

At Roweb, this is the gap we focus on closing, before an incident forces the conversation.

Check our cybersecurity page