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Czech Government Suspects Foreign Power in Hacking of Its Email Czech Government Suspects Foreign Power in Hacking of Its Email
(about 2 hours later)
PRAGUE — A “statelike actor” infiltrated the Czech Foreign Ministry and hacked emails belonging to the foreign minister and dozens of his colleagues, in a manner similar to the breach of the Democratic National Committee’s servers, the minister announced on Tuesday.PRAGUE — A “statelike actor” infiltrated the Czech Foreign Ministry and hacked emails belonging to the foreign minister and dozens of his colleagues, in a manner similar to the breach of the Democratic National Committee’s servers, the minister announced on Tuesday.
The announcement immediately raised fears across Central Europe of potential interference by Russia, which the United States government said was behind the attack on the D.N.C. That breach resulted in embarrassing leaks ahead of Donald J. Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in the United States presidential election. Legislative elections are expected to be held in October — another unnerving resemblance to the D.N.C. hack.The announcement immediately raised fears across Central Europe of potential interference by Russia, which the United States government said was behind the attack on the D.N.C. That breach resulted in embarrassing leaks ahead of Donald J. Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in the United States presidential election. Legislative elections are expected to be held in October — another unnerving resemblance to the D.N.C. hack.
The attack in the Czech Republic occurred repeatedly and was detected only during a recent systems check, officials said.The attack in the Czech Republic occurred repeatedly and was detected only during a recent systems check, officials said.
The foreign minister, Lubomir Zaoralek, said at a news briefing in Prague that no classified information had been compromised and that the government uses a separate internal server to exchange confidential information. There have been previous hacking attempts at the ministry, but none succeeded.The foreign minister, Lubomir Zaoralek, said at a news briefing in Prague that no classified information had been compromised and that the government uses a separate internal server to exchange confidential information. There have been previous hacking attempts at the ministry, but none succeeded.
However, a report at the online news site Neovlivni said highly sensitive messages had been downloaded, and described the breach as one of the most serious in years. Experts agreed that the government had probably played down the scope of the attack.However, a report at the online news site Neovlivni said highly sensitive messages had been downloaded, and described the breach as one of the most serious in years. Experts agreed that the government had probably played down the scope of the attack.
“No matter how great the leak is, a respected institution will not admit it, because it is its failure,” Karel Randak, a former head of the foreign relations office of the Czech foreign intelligence service, said. “No matter how great the leak is, a respected institution will not admit it, because it is its failure,” Karel Randak, a former head of foreign relations in the Czech foreign intelligence service, said.
Mr. Zaoralek, at the news conference, said, “The attack was very sophisticated and probably carried out by a statelike actor,” though he declined to specify which country might be behind it. He said the attack resembled that carried out against the D.N.C., but he did not provide technical details. Mr. Zaoralek, at the news conference, said, “The attack was very sophisticated and probably carried out by a statelike actor,” though he declined to specify which country might be behind it. He said the attack resembled that carried out against the D.N.C., but he did not provide details.
Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka called the hacking a serious threat to national security and ordered a thorough analysis into what had happened. “The issue has to be thoroughly investigated,” he said.Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka called the hacking a serious threat to national security and ordered a thorough analysis into what had happened. “The issue has to be thoroughly investigated,” he said.
Mr. Sobotka has had his own encounters with security breaches. His private email account was hacked in January 2016; about 80 emails were stolen and posted on an extremist white supremacy website. A month earlier, his Twitter account had been hacked and flooded with racist comments. (Experts said that somebody had simply guessed the password and that the attack was not the result of a coordinated or elaborate operation.)Mr. Sobotka has had his own encounters with security breaches. His private email account was hacked in January 2016; about 80 emails were stolen and posted on an extremist white supremacy website. A month earlier, his Twitter account had been hacked and flooded with racist comments. (Experts said that somebody had simply guessed the password and that the attack was not the result of a coordinated or elaborate operation.)
The target suggested that the hacking was aimed at collecting sensitive information about other countries, not just the Czech Republic, said Michal Salat, threat intelligence director at Avast, a computer security company.The target suggested that the hacking was aimed at collecting sensitive information about other countries, not just the Czech Republic, said Michal Salat, threat intelligence director at Avast, a computer security company.
“Regardless of the quality of information that was hacked, political institutions should properly protect all of their accounts, as data leaks always lead to a loss in trust,” Mr. Salat said. “That it was the Czech foreign minister that was hacked suggests that the attackers were eager to access information regarding other countries.”“Regardless of the quality of information that was hacked, political institutions should properly protect all of their accounts, as data leaks always lead to a loss in trust,” Mr. Salat said. “That it was the Czech foreign minister that was hacked suggests that the attackers were eager to access information regarding other countries.”
Czech government institutions have faced a growing number of hacking attempts, according to Daniel P. Bagge, director of cybersecurity policy at the Czech National Security Bureau.Czech government institutions have faced a growing number of hacking attempts, according to Daniel P. Bagge, director of cybersecurity policy at the Czech National Security Bureau.
In October, the Czech police detained a 29-year-old Russian, Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin, on accusations of hacking. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in California on charges that he hacked into computer networks at LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring, damaged computers and conspired to traffic in stolen information. Both the Russian and American authorities have requested his extradition; he remains in custody in Prague.In October, the Czech police detained a 29-year-old Russian, Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin, on accusations of hacking. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in California on charges that he hacked into computer networks at LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring, damaged computers and conspired to traffic in stolen information. Both the Russian and American authorities have requested his extradition; he remains in custody in Prague.
“The information security threat from both governmental and nongovernmental groups is most likely substantially much higher than perceived,” said Kyrre Sletsjoe, the owner of Cepia Technologies, a company in the Czech city of Brno that does computing work for governments. “I am convinced that the majority of these attacks are never discovered.”“The information security threat from both governmental and nongovernmental groups is most likely substantially much higher than perceived,” said Kyrre Sletsjoe, the owner of Cepia Technologies, a company in the Czech city of Brno that does computing work for governments. “I am convinced that the majority of these attacks are never discovered.”