European intelligence agencies say investigations into Russian interference now consume as much time and resources as monitoring terrorist threats, underscoring how cyberattacks and sabotage have become central security concerns across the continent.
Cyberattack Disrupts France’s Postal Service During Christmas Rush
A pro-Russian hacking group known as Noname057(16) claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that disrupted France’s national postal service during the peak Christmas delivery period, French prosecutors said on Wednesday. Following the claim, France’s domestic intelligence agency, the DGSI, took over the investigation, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. The attack, a distributed denial-of-service operation, knocked La Poste’s central computer systems offline on Monday and had not been fully resolved by Wednesday morning. As a result, postal workers were unable to track parcel deliveries, while online payments at La Poste’s banking arm, La Banque Postale, also suffered disruptions. The timing proved particularly damaging, as the incident struck during the busiest season for La Poste, which employs more than 200,000 people nationwide.
A Persistent and Resilient Hacking Network
Noname057(16) is no stranger to European authorities. The group has previously targeted Ukrainian media outlets as well as government and corporate websites in Poland, Sweden and Germany, and has carried out attacks on French government platforms, including the Ministry of Justice and several prefectures and municipalities. In July, the group was targeted in Operation Eastwood, a coordinated international law enforcement effort involving authorities from 12 countries. That operation dismantled more than 100 servers worldwide, led to two arrests in France and Spain, and resulted in seven arrest warrants, six of them issued for Russian nationals. Despite the scale of the crackdown, the group resumed operations within days and has remained active since.
Broader Pattern of Cyber and Sabotage Activity
The postal service disruption followed closely on the heels of another cyber incident affecting the French government. Days earlier, authorities disclosed an attack on the Interior Ministry, which oversees national security. In that breach, a suspected hacker extracted several dozen sensitive documents and accessed information related to police records and wanted individuals, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told broadcaster Franceinfo. Separately, French prosecutors last week said counterintelligence officials are investigating a suspected cyber sabotage plot involving software that could have enabled the remote control of computer systems aboard an international passenger ferry. A Latvian crew member is being held on charges of acting on behalf of an unidentified foreign power.
Suspicion Falls on Moscow Amid ‘Hybrid Warfare’ Claims
While French authorities have stopped short of formally attributing these incidents, Nunez strongly hinted at Russian involvement, saying that “foreign interference very often comes from the same country.” France and other European allies of Ukraine argue that Russia is conducting a campaign of so-called hybrid warfare, combining sabotage, assassinations, cyberattacks and disinformation to destabilise Western societies and weaken support for Kyiv. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western officials have linked scores of incidents across Europe to Moscow, including arson attacks on warehouses, railway sabotage and acts of vandalism. Against this backdrop, intelligence agencies warn that countering Russian interference has become a task as demanding and resource-intensive as combating terrorism itself.
