The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday that it had quickly taken the necessary action after discovering "anomalous activity affecting its information systems" last week.
The Hague-based ICC, which only described the event as a "cybersecurity incident," withheld particular information about its nature.
Additional "response and security measures are now ongoing" in coordination with Dutch authorities, according to Court spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah in a written statement, given that the ICC's headquarters are located in the Netherlands.
In his statement, El Abdallah also emphasized the court's dedication to strengthening its cybersecurity framework. To strengthen the digital defenses of the ICC.
"Looking forward, the Court will be building on existing work presently underway to strengthen its cyber security framework, including accelerating its use of cloud technology," El Abdallah stated, as quoted by AP News.
The International Criminal Court did not provide any other details regarding the cyberattack incident, but it stressed that the analysis and mitigation of its effects, as well as maintaining its fundamental operations were given top priority.
Past Cyberattacks on ICC
The ICC, renowned for its high-profile investigations and preliminary probes in several countries throughout the globe, has already encountered cybersecurity issues in the past.
According to a report from the Manila Bulletin, Dutch intelligence services said that they had foiled a sophisticated espionage operation by a Russian agent named Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, who had taken on a fake Brazilian name to serve as an intern at the ICC last year. This information was made public while the court looked into claims of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Notably, the ICC issued an arrest order for Russian President Vladimir Putin for child deportation charges in March and investigates crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ukraine.
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The Dutch foreign ministry released a written statement in response to questions surrounding the recent cybersecurity problem, expressing deep concern over harmful acts that jeopardize the court's cybersecurity and its capacity to carry out its duty safely. The Netherlands promised to continue support for the ICC while it investigates the cyberattack.
Sri Lanka Government Suffers Massive Data Loss
In another cybersecurity news, Sri Lanka's Computer Emergency Readiness Team is investigating a ransomware attack on the government's cloud computing infrastructure and 5,000 email accounts.
The Register reported that the cyber attack caused massive data loss in significant Sri Lankan government agencies like the Cabinet Office, presidential representatives, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. Authorities suspect the incident occurred between May 17 and August 26, and the perpetrators may have infiltrated backup systems.
In response to the cyberattack, which took advantage of out-of-date software and targeted public officials with phishing schemes, Sri Lanka's Information and Communication Technology Agency has introduced daily offline backup procedures.
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