Ethical hackers expose record number of public service vulnerabilities
Ethical hackers in Belgium have uncovered 96 vulnerabilities in public services in recent weeks, a sharp increase compared with 2024. The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) reported the figures on Wednesday evening.
The CCB held the closing event of #HackTheGovernment2025, an ethical hacking competition that tests the digital resilience of federal public bodies. Over the past two weeks, 71 participants - 39 professionals and 32 students - examined the security of selected federal systems in search of weaknesses.
In total, the exercise produced 96 unique vulnerability reports, significantly more than the 84 in 2024. "This year’s results are particularly impressive because of the quality of the reports," said Michele Rignanese of the CCB. "They show the growing maturity and value of the ethical hacking community in Belgium."
"This year’s results show the growing maturity and value of the ethical hacking community in Belgium"
Targets included the National Agency for Annual Vacations, the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products, the CCB itself, the federal and local police and ministry of Defence.
Trust and transparency
According to the CCB, #HackTheGovernment is more than a technical test. "It is a national collaboration that strengthens citizens’ trust and transparency," Rignanese said. "We also want to give students a helping hand by raising awareness of cybersecurity careers and offering them a unique opportunity to work closely with professionals for two weeks."
Belgium is increasingly targeted by hacking attempts and other cybersecurity threats. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Chinese hackers gained access to Belgian state security emails.
Pro-Russian hackers have also repeatedly executed distributed denial-of-service attacks on government websites.
© PHOTO DAMIEN MEYER / AFP
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