ENGINEERINGNET.EU – This weekend internet and telephone services provider Belgacom in Belgium revealed to have found traces of a digital intrusion in its internal IT system. Belgacom is a public company, of which the majority of shares is owned by the Belgian state.
The company claims to have taken all appropriate actions to protect the integrity of its IT system and to further reinforce the prevention against possible incidents.
The newspaper 'De Standaard' however cites anonymous but reliable sources confirming that the National Security Agency was already monitoring all Belgacom international telephone traffic 'during at least two years'.
Belgacom has filed a complaint against an unknown third party and 'is granting its full support to the investigation that is being performed by the Federal Prosecutor'.
As to the perpetrators and their motives, the company states 'it is up to the Federal Prosecutor’s investigation to bring clarity on this'.
In the meantime the Belgian prime minister Elio Di Rupo also condemned the hack in an official press release, stating: "The Government takes notice that the technology used would indicate the high level involvement of another country."
"If this hypothesis is confirmed and the intrusion is indeed of a case of so-called cyber espionage, the government strongly condemns this intrusion and this breach of the integrity of the public company."
"In that case, the government will take the appropriate steps."