Dutch intelligence agencies say Russian hackers stole police data in cyberattack
A previously unknown Russian hacker group with suspected ties to the Kremlin was responsible for a cyberattack last year on the Dutch police and has also targeted other Western nations that deliver military support to Ukraine, intelligence agencies announced Tuesday.
The agencies said in a report that the group, which they called Laundry Bear, is actively trying to steal sensitive data from European Union and NATO countries and is "extremely likely Russian state supported."
"Laundry Bear is after information about the purchase and production of military equipment by Western governments and Western deliveries of weapons to Ukraine," Vice Adm. Peter Reesink, director of the
military intelligence
agency MIVD, said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the report.
The Netherlands has been a strong supporter of Ukraine's war effort since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has given military equipment, including F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv.
Live Events
The
Russian hackers
broke into a police account and accessed work-related contact details of all Dutch police officers in September last year, in a cyberattack that sent shockwaves through the force.
Discover the stories of your interest
Blockchain
5 Stories
Cyber-safety
7 Stories
Fintech
9 Stories
E-comm
9 Stories
ML
8 Stories
Edtech
6 Stories
The
Dutch intelligence agencies
published a detailed analysis of methods used by the hacker group to break into computer networks and cloud services.
Erik Akerboom, chief of the domestic intelligence agency AIVD, said that outlining the group's work means that "not only governments, but also manufacturers, suppliers and other targets can arm themselves against this form of espionage. This limits Laundry Bear's chances of success and digital networks can be better protected."
The attack discovered in the Netherlands is one of a growing number around the world.
Last week, the U.S. National Security Agency said that hackers working for Russian military intelligence targeted Western technology and logistics companies involved in shipping assistance to Ukraine.
And last month, the French government accused a hacking group linked to Russian military intelligence of cyberattacks over three years, targeting the Paris Olympics, French government agencies and companies.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
16 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Pussy Riot co-founder back in prison cell -- at LA museum
Nadya Tolokonnikova, the co-founder of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot, is back in a prison cell but this time, she has gone willingly. At the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Russian activist is staging "Police State" a two-week piece of performance art aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of authoritarianism and oppression. Tolokonnikova who spent nearly two years in a Russian penal colony for performing a protest song against Vladimir Putin in a Moscow church in 2012 knows a bit about the topic. Through the installation, which opened Thursday and runs through June 14, she says she hopes to teach visitors about what she believes to be the advent of a new means of control technology. While she is in the mock cell, during all museum opening hours, she will eat, use the toilet, sew clothes as she once did in her real cell and create "soundscapes." Visitors can observe her through holes in the cell or on security camera footage. "People don't treat authoritarianism seriously," Tolokonnikova told AFP. Seated in a makeshift Russian prison cell, wearing a green tracksuit, the 35-year-old activist says in several countries, the concept of a "police state" is expanding. "As someone who lived under authoritarian rule for over 25 years, I know how real it is and how it starts, step by step, on the arrest of one person. You think, 'Well, it's not about me'," she explained. "And then next thing we know, the entire country is under the military boot." For Tolokonnikova, Donald Trump's return to the White House in January has sparked an "erosion of the system of checks and balances," which she deemed "very dangerous." She says the artistic community, and society in general, should do more to counter governmental abuses of power, wherever they may occur, and stop "outsourcing politics and political action." "I feel like it's as if there is someone else who's going to save us from everything. That's not what works really. We all have to contribute." Some who visited the installation said they agreed with Tolokonnikova that society had become too passive. "I feel like Americans don't want to believe that we could be in danger of losing our freedoms," said Jimmie Akin, a graphic designer who said she was worried about the policy changes since Trump took office. "People need to wake up." For 29-year-old Hannah Tyler, "Police State" was a bit of a shock to the system. "We're living in a country where we aren't facing the same extreme oppression that she did in Russia, but getting close to it. I felt inspired to take more action than I have been," Tyler said. Tolokonnikova's installation has some symbolic features. She has books and artworks made by Russian, US and Belarusian prisoners, as well as a drawing by late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. A sewing machine recalls the manual labor of her incarceration. Words of protest are carved into the walls. For Alex Sloane, the museum's associate curator, the installation shows how "increased surveillance and government overreach" are becoming more and more widespread, and "freedoms are at risk." "We should do all that we can to make sure" that such circumstances are kept at bay, Sloane said. pr/bdx/sst/nl
Deccan Herald
16 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
US believes Russia response to Ukraine drone attack not over yet, expects multi-pronged strike
The timing of the full Russian response was unclear, with one source saying it was expected within days. A second US official said the retaliation was likely to include different kinds of air capabilities, including missiles and drones.
Hindustan Times
21 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
World leaders head to France for UN summit on ocean threats
World leaders descend on the French Riviera on Sunday ahead of a high-level summit to tackle a deepening crisis in the oceans driven by overfishing, climate change and pollution. The United Nations says oceans face an "emergency" and leaders gathering in Nice will be under pressure to commit much-needed money and stronger protections for the ailing seas and the people that depend on them. The UN Ocean Conference must try to turn a corner as nations feud over deep-sea mining, plastic litter and exploitative fishing, against a backdrop of wider geopolitical tensions. Some 50 heads of state and government are expected to attend, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei. On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to sail to Nice from Monaco, where he is attending a related event aimed at raising private capital for ocean conservation. He will be joined on the shimmering Mediterranean Sea by other vessels in a colourful maritime parade, before touring an exhibition centre on land transformed into the cavernous belly of a whale. That evening, Macron will host leaders for a dinner of Mediterranean fish ahead of the summit's formal opening on Monday. Peaceful demonstrations are expected over the five-day event and France has deployed 5,000 police to the heritage-listed city where scientists, business leaders and environmental activists are also attending in big numbers. A strong turnout is also expected from Pacific Island nations, whose delegations will demand greater financial assistance to fight the rising seas, marine trash and plunder of fisheries that threatens their very survival. The United States under President Donald Trump whose recent push to fast-track seabed mining in international waters sparked global outrage is not expected to send a delegation. Conservationists have warned the summit which will not produce a legally binding agreement risks being a talk fest unless leaders come armed with concrete proposals for restoring marine health. Chief among these is securing the missing finance to get anywhere near protecting 30 percent of the world's oceans by 2030, a globally agreed target. "We've created this sort of myth that governments don't have money for ocean conservation," Brian O'Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature, told reporters. "There is money. There is not political will," he said. So far, only around eight percent of oceans are designated marine conservation zones and even less are considered truly protected. Greenpeace says at this rate, it could take another 82 years to reach the 30 percent goal. In a boost this week, Samoa declared 30 percent of its national waters under protection with the creation of nine new marine parks. Conservationists hope others at Nice follow suit. "All eyes should be on the many Pacific leaders attending... Their ambition and dedication to ocean protection can serve as inspiration to all countries," said Kevin Chand from the nonprofit group Pristine Seas. There has also been a concerted push for nations, including France, to ban bottom trawling a destructive fishing method that indiscriminately scrapes the ocean floor. On Saturday, Macron told the Ouest-France newspaper that bottom trawling would be restricted in some national marine protected areas. Inching closer toward the numbers required to ratify a global treaty on harmful fishing subsidies, and another on high seas protection, will also be a summit priority. France is spearheading a separate push in Nice to build support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of a closely-watched meeting of the International Seabed Authority in July. On Sunday, an expert scientific panel will hand Macron a list of recommendations for leaders at the summit, including pausing seabed exploration when so little is known about the deep oceans. np-aag/djt
