Belgacom files complaint for hacking

Belgacom has filed a ‘complaint against persons unknown’ for hacking into its internal IT systems and apparently inserting a virus, writes GigaOM's David Meyer. The telecoms operator has not officially suggested who this ‘person unknown’ might be, but De Standaard has quoted sources as saying it was the American National Security Agency (NSA) or one of its partners. Belgacom said this morning that it had found evidence of an intrusion into its systems, and the subsequent investigation revealed a virus in “a few dozen” servers and workstations. The company stressed that the virus infected only its internal IT systems, and had not affected Belgacom’s telecoms network. However, De Standaard‘s sources reveal a couple further details that do not quite fit with the official statement. According to the report, the hackers intercepted international phone traffic for at least two years, with the intrusion being discovered in June this year. They were also apparently very interested in Belgacom International Carrier Services (BICS), the firm’s joint venture with Swisscom and South Africa’s MTN. The complexity of the malware suggests that the hackers were most likely working for the NSA or Britain’s GCHQ, while reports show that they were particularly after traffic from countries such as Syria and Yemen. On both counts, the evidence appears to be circumstantial for now.