The government detected cyber attacks against the FPS Home Affairs and Defence. They “significantly affected our sovereignty, democracy, security and society,” according to the press release. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both attacks can be linked to Chinese hacker groups.
The hackers had access to the network at the Interior for two years. The Center for Cyber Security (CCB) had previously suggested that the attack appeared to be the work of an intelligence agency. Due to the cyber attack at Defense, the network was cut off from the internet for weeks and mail traffic with the outside world was interrupted.
“Belgium strongly condemns these malicious cyber activities, which contradict the norms of responsible state behavior, as endorsed by all UN member states,” said Foreign Affairs. “We continue to urge Chinese authorities to abide by these standards and not allow their territory to be used for malicious cyber activities.” Our country also asks that “all appropriate and possible measures be taken to detect, investigate and address the situation”.