European Commission hit by cyberattack, investigation into data theft
The European Commission was hit by a cyberattack this week and is investigating the impact. A specialised news website reported that it was in contact with the perpetrator, who claims to have stolen 350 GB of data.
The incident was discovered on Tuesday, the European Commission reports. It is believed to have involved an attack on its cloud infrastructure hosting the Commission's web presence on the Europa.eu platform. The various Europa websites remained online during the hack.
The Commission says it acted swiftly to contain the attack and protect services and data. The exact extent of the impact is still being investigated. Contact has also been made with other European Union entities that may have been affected.
According to the EC, the consequences have been limited, but it appears that data has been stolen. The full impact is still being investigated. Based on initial findings, the European Commission concludes that its internal systems have not been affected. The Commission adds that it “will analyse the incident and use the results to further enhance its cybersecurity capabilities”.
"350 GB of data stolen"
It is not known who is behind the hack. The specialised news website BleepingComputer however reported that it was in contact with the perpetrator, who claims to have stolen 350 GB of data, including various databases.
The hacker showed several screenshots as proof to a journalist from the website. These reveal information about European Commission officials and an email server they use.
It is reportedly not the intention to demand a ransom from the European Commission. The plan would be to publish the data online at a later date.
The Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission © PHOTO HANSLUCASCOLLECTION
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