The Brenner mega-tunnel, the Brenner Basis Tunnel, and Smart Box, the travel and experience gift box group. These are the latest two targets, revealed today, of cyberattacks in Italy. On a day when there were no bomb scares in the skies, unlike in recent days.
Threats of hybrid warfare will be the subject of investigations at European level. Europol has convened a meeting for next week with police forces from all the countries affected by the cyberattacks. In Italy too, which has recently been hit by hacker attacks and false bomb scares via email concerning flights, evidence is being gathered which will then be shared at European level.
The latest hacker attacks
Confirming the report, which appeared in the Austrian newspaper Tiroler Tageszeitung, regarding the cyberattack on the Brenner megatunnel in October, the construction company, BBT SE, stated that in mid-October hackers managed to gain access to some of the data available online. Initial investigations by the authorities point to ‘Everest’, a Russian-speaking criminal hacker network known for ransomware and extortion operations. This was confirmed by a company spokesperson to the Tiroler Tageszeitung.
The operating company BBT SE has confirmed the targeted cyberattack. Those responsible for the hack gained partial access to data “accessible via the internet”. The affected systems have been isolated, external experts have been brought in, and the authorities have been notified.
According to Brenner Basis Tunnel SE, at present, “the incident has not affected the construction of the tunnel”; however, it remains unclear what data has been compromised and how deeply the attackers managed to penetrate the network. The company declined to comment on whether negotiations were taking place with any extortionists. Thorough checks and investigations are currently underway.
It was Smart Box itself that revealed it had been the target of a cyberattack on 3 November in an email sent to customers. The company detected unauthorised access to one of its platforms. “Based on the investigations carried out so far, due to the nature of the incident, some personal data, including customers’ names and email addresses, may have been accessed. The perpetrator of the attack did not gain access to payment card details or account passwords – according to Smart Box’s statement – We have launched a full investigation and informed the relevant authorities, including the Data Protection Commission and law-enforcement agencies. We are also reviewing the security measures across all our systems and introducing additional safeguards to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future.”