Russia-linked cyber attacks on Europe have doubled since 2023, top EU cybersecurity official says
Destroyer Digital attacksThe number of such attacks, many of which have been traced to Russian-backed groups, has doubled in the European Union in recent months, and are also targeting election-related services, according to the EU's top cybersecurity official.
Geopolitically motivated attacks have risen steadily since then, Johan Lepassar, head of the European Union Cybersecurity Agency, or ENISA, told The Associated Press in an interview. Massive Russian invasion of Ukraine On February 24, 2022.
“The number of hacking attacks (against) European infrastructure — actors aiming to cause disruption — has doubled from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024,” Lepassar said late Tuesday at the agency’s headquarters in Athens.
“It's a very significant increase,” he added.
Citizens of the 27 EU member states are scheduled to vote from June 6 to 9 to elect EU lawmakers. European Parliament In the elections that will also form the executive branch of the European Union, the European Commission. Belgian officials told police on Wednesday Searches carried out At the residence of a European Parliament employee and at his office in the Parliament building in Brussels due to suspected Russian interference. Elections are also scheduled to be held in the United States, Britain and France Multiple other countriesThe security services warned of the danger of obstruction campaigns funded by opponents.
ENISA has led extensive exercises and consultations to strengthen the resilience of EU election-related agencies over the past seven months. In its annual report for 2023, the agency noted an increase in ransomware attacks and incidents targeting public institutions.
Lepassar said the attack methods – while often unsuccessful – were often tried in Ukraine before being expanded to EU countries.
He added: “This is part of the Russian war of aggression, which they are waging physically in Ukraine, but also digitally throughout Europe.”
Experts warn that AI tools are also being used to quickly and widely target Western voters with misleading or false information, including hyper-realistic video and audio clips known as deepfakes.
“It has been confirmed, also by cybersecurity agencies in member states, that artificial intelligence-enabled disinformation and manipulation of information poses a major threat,” Lepassar said.
His comments echo the warning issued this month by the US Director of National Intelligence Avril Hines Technological advances will make more countries and groups able to launch effective disinformation campaigns.
US and European experts are helping security agencies try to anticipate emerging digital threats and vulnerabilities during this decade, with ENISA identifying food production, satellite management and autonomous vehicles as areas requiring attention.
Lepassar argues that cybersecurity will inevitably need to become second nature to designers and consumers.
“I think we have a societal challenge to understand digital security in the same way we understand security in the everyday traffic environment,” he said.
“When we drive, we are aware of what is going on around us. We are alert.” “The same kind of behaviors and habits are what we also need to instill when we work in any type of digital environment.”
