Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Exclusive

State-level espionage on EU tagged as 'Very High Threat'

The most successful attempts of espionage at a top EU institution are state sponsored, according to an internal document.

The restricted document presents an analysis of threats to the security of information at the General Secretariat of the Council (GSC).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The GSC administers over the Council, representing member states, as well as the more politically-oriented European Council.

"The majority of discovered, successful compromises of information in the GSC are from threat source level VERY HIGH (e.g. state sponsored attacks)," notes the document, dated 26 May and obtained by this website.

The GSC is a prime target because it deals with the negotiation and adoption of EU laws, coordinates member state policies, and develops the EU's common foreign and security policy.

It also helps negotiations on international agreements.

"Any country with a conflict between their national and EU interests or which may have an interest in EU information only, may try to undertake an attack on the security of information handled in GSC," it says.

The 28-page document was drafted by the Council's security committee.

It does not provide specific examples.

But it does highlight China, noting the country had in 2016 led the world in espionage malware, followed by Russia and the rest of Europe.

"The GSC can also be attacked via systems located in EU member states," it adds.

The most common attacks include phishing emails, enticing people to either click on a link or open an attachment.

One such attack took place in late November 2018 when a phishing campaign hacked into a network at the Cypriot ministry of foreign affairs.

The network was ultra-sensitive because the European Union uses it to facilitate cooperation on foreign policy issues.

Known as COREU, the network operates between the EU states, the Council of the European Union, the EU's foreign policy branch (EEAS) and the European Commission.

Experts says the campaign had been led by the Chinese government via its Strategic Support Force of the People's Liberation Army.

State-sponsored espionage is not the only threat.

Four threat-levels

The document spells out four levels of threat.

It classifies as low amateur hackers and open source researchers. Medium is reserved for insiders who do not have privileged access to systems.

High level is for "hactivists", privileged insiders, and any organisation carrying out cyber crime.

"The insider threat (deliberate actions by GSC staff against the security of information) is rare as evidenced by past incidents (only one case)," it notes.

Very high is for those carrying out government orders to hack systems.

The Council internal document's findings was compiled by the EU's intelligence centre (Intcen), US government sources, the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU Institutions known as CERT-EU, Kaspersky Lab, Microsoft, among others.

The probe took place throughout 2017 and was updated in November last year.

Investigation

China suspected of bio-espionage in 'heart of EU'

Chinese spies have targeted Belgian biological warfare experts, vaccine-maker GSK, and other high-tech firms in the country, Belgium's intelligence service suspects.

Finnish PM: Russia preparing for 'long conflict with West'

Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has cautioned about the danger of a Russian attack in coming years. Russia is not "invincible" but "self-satisfaction is no longer an option," Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo said.

EU Commission proposes opening Bosnia accession talks

Eight years on, the EU Commission is to recommend on Tuesday that member states open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country took "impressive steps" to meet the bloc's standards, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us