Hackers attempted to infiltrate the office of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo between 10 and 14 August, local media reports. An investigation is now underway after the chancellery detected attempts to breach security from unusual IP addresses, which triggered an alert system.
However, it is unclear if the incident was actually a cyberattack: "An abnormal activity has taken place, " said Michele Rignanese, a spokesperson of Belgium's Cybersecurity Cente, in L'Echo. "But we have no indication that it went further than an attempt, a priori there was no data theft. This is not a hacking but an incident."
He explained that "at this point, we can't conclude there really was an intrusion on the servers." Rignanese added that the targeted server didn't contain any classified information.
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After detecting the attempted intrusion, authorities took preventative measures, such as asking for passwords to be reset as well as interrupting access to emails on cell phones. However, it is unclear whether the attack came from Belgium or abroad.
"Let's remember that hackers sometimes use techniques attributable to other groups in order to cover their tracks," said Rignanese.
