Bucharest has responded to the Russian hacking of the Romanian military's email system

Hackers linked to Russia carried out a massive breach of email accounts belonging to officials and military personnel in several NATO countries, as well as in Ukraine and Serbia. In Romania, in particular, the attackers gained access to the email accounts of the Air Force and NATO air bases. 

This was reported by Digi24.

In Romania, 67 email accounts were targeted, including those of a senior military officer and NATO facilities. The country’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed the successful hacking of 30 accounts, noting that other attacks were successfully repelled.

The ministry emphasized that the compromised accounts were used solely for administrative purposes and did not contain classified information. As a preventive measure, the Romanian military centralized its cybersecurity procedures last month under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Defense.

In addition to Romania, over 170 email accounts of prosecutors and investigators in Ukraine who are involved in the fight against corruption and collaborators were targeted by cyberattacks. Hackers also gained access to 27 accounts of the Greek General Staff, as well as email accounts of officials in Bulgaria and military specialists in Serbia.

Experts link the increased activity of Kremlin spies to Moscow’s attempts to monitor the actions of NATO countries and internal processes in Ukraine. These incidents are occurring amid reports of Russian interference in the operation of satellite navigation services in the region.

In Bulgaria, the hacking of mailboxes in the Plovdiv province is linked to an attempt to disrupt last year’s visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The scale of the campaign indicates systematic efforts by Russia to destabilize the cyberspace of European countries and the Alliance.

The U.S. Department of State, as part of the Rewards for Justice program, has offered a reward for information leading to the identification of Iranian cybercriminals responsible for hacking FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email. 

As a reminder, Iranian hackers breached FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email and posted correspondence and personal data from 2010–2019 online. The Handala Hack Team claimed responsibility for the attack.