The European Commission is investigating a cyberattack that targeted the cloud infrastructure hosting its Europa.eu websites, with early findings indicating that some data may have been accessed.
The incident, detected on March 24, was contained quickly, and officials said there was no disruption to website availability.
Initial Findings And Containment Measures
The Commission said mitigation steps were applied shortly after detection and that its internal systems were not affected, limiting the scope of the breach.
In a statement, the Commission said it is notifying EU entities that may have been impacted, while continuing to assess the full extent of the incident.
Claims Of Data Exfiltration
Security outlet BleepingComputer reported that threat actors may have gained access to the Commission’s cloud environment hosted on Amazon Web Services.
According to the report, attackers claimed to have extracted hundreds of gigabytes of data, including databases, and shared screenshots as evidence. The Commission has not confirmed the volume or type of data involved.
AWS said its infrastructure was not compromised and that its services operated as expected.
Ongoing Investigation And Unclear Attack Method
The method used to gain access remains unknown. The Commission said its investigation is ongoing and that further analysis will focus on understanding the breach and strengthening cybersecurity protections.
The attacker reportedly said they do not intend to demand a ransom but may release the data publicly.
Related Incident Earlier This Year
The Commission also disclosed a separate cyberattack detected on January 30 affecting its mobile device management system. That incident was contained within nine hours, and no devices were compromised.
Officials said some staff data, including names and phone numbers, may have been accessed in that earlier case.
Broader Cybersecurity Context
The Commission said it will continue monitoring threats and improving defenses as European institutions face ongoing cyber and hybrid risks targeting public services and infrastructure.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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