OSCE confirms ‘major’ cyber attack

Vienna / AFP

International observer body the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed on Wednesday being the victim of a “major” cyber attack.
“Early November the OSCE became aware of a major information security incident,” OSCE spokeswoman Mersiha Causevic Podzic said via email.
The attack “compromis[ed] the confidentiality” of the OSCE’s IT network and put “its integrity at risk”, although the organisation was still able to operate, she said. According to French daily Le Monde, which first reported the incident, a Western intelligence agency believes that Russian hackers group APT28 was behind the attack. This group, also known as Pawn Storm, Sofacy and Fancy Bear, is believed to be behind other high-profile cyber attacks and to be linked to Russia’s security services, Le Monde said. The OSCE declined to comment on this, saying only that “the way in which the attacker accessed the OSCE was identified, as have some of the external communication destinations”.