France probes ‘foreign interference’ after remote control malware found on passenger ferry
PARIS– France’s counterintelligence agency is investigating an alleged cyberattack plot targeting an international passenger ferry, authorities said Wednesday.
A Latvian crew member is in custody and is accused of acting on behalf of an unidentified foreign power, French officials said. But the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nunez, seemed to suggest that Russia was suspected: “For the moment, foreign interference very often comes from the same country. »
France and other European allies of Ukraine say Russia is waging a “hybrid war” against them, using sabotage, assassinations, cyberattacks, disinformation and other hostile acts that are often difficult to quickly trace to Moscow.
Intelligence shared by Italian authorities informed the General Directorate of Internal Security – France’s special counter-espionage and anti-terrorism intelligence service – that software sometimes used by cybercriminals may have infected computer systems on board a ferry docked in the French Mediterranean port of Sète, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
So-called RAT software, which allows users to control computer systems remotely, could have been used to take control of the ferry’s computers, the prosecutor’s office said. His statement did not name the ferry.
Nunez told public broadcaster France Info that “individuals tried to access a ship’s computer system.” He described it as “a very serious matter”. Asked if the alleged intention was to hijack the ship, he replied: “We don’t know.”
He added: “Investigators appear to be following a trail of interference…foreign interference. »
Police on Friday arrested two members of the ferry crew – one Latvian and the other Bulgarian – who Italian authorities had identified as suspects, the prosecutor’s office said. The Bulgarian was later released without charge after questioning.
The Latvian national is being held on a preliminary charge of criminal conspiracy and two preliminary charges of offenses related to computer hacking to further the interests of an unnamed foreign power, the prosecutor’s office said.
Research was also carried out in Latvia. Latvian state police said they had no comment.
The ferry is now operational again after being held at port for security checks of its computer system, the prosecutor’s office said.
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AP European security correspondent Emma Burrows in London contributed.
