The information, revealed Tuesday by Het Nieuwsblad, was confirmed by the federal prosecutor’s office. The investigation has only just begun.
The hack, or attempted hack, was discovered in early August and is believed to have come from abroad, according to Het Nieuwsblad. When questioned, the Prime Minister’s office confirmed “suspicious activity” observed on the Chancellery’s computer systems. “The competent authorities have directly taken additional precautionary measures to rule out any further security risks. A judicial inquiry must determine the context of the incident.
The services of the chancellery supply many other services, including the local and federal police. “All the computers of all the agents in this country had to be reset”, according to police sources quoted by the daily. “Each police officer had to request a new password. And currently still, not all agents and investigators can use their computer as desired. It’s very annoying, in the face of crime, and even opening an email is sometimes difficult.
The technical investigation is in the hands of the Center for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB).
