French intelligence services are investigating a possible operation by foreign agents of influence after high-tech spying equipment was found on a ferry in the port of Sète in the south of the country, writes Politico.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that individuals had tried to hack the ship’s IT system, and investigators believe it was a planned operation by foreign services. According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, the ship was moored in the port of Sète on the Mediterranean coast when French authorities received information from their Italian counterparts that the ship’s computer system had been hacked using remote access tools. The prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation, and the French intelligence service DGSI has been involved in it.
The information about the incident came at a time when France has reported several hybrid attack operations in recent weeks. These include drone sightings over a submarine base and attacks on memorial sites in Paris, and the operations are believed to be financed by Russia.
Two suspects, crew members from Latvia and Bulgaria, were arrested on the 12th of December.
The Bulgarian was later released, but the suspect from Latvia remains in custody and has been charged with attempting to gain unauthorized access to data processing systems on behalf of foreign forces. An investigation is also underway in Latvia, in cooperation with local authorities.
According to a report in the newspaper Le Parisien, DGSI agents on board seized equipment that allows remote access to and control of computer systems, and Russia is suspected of organizing the operation. However, neither the prosecutor’s office nor Nunez confirmed Moscow’s involvement, and the minister noted that this is not the first time that investigators have found such equipment.
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The post Spying equipment discovered on ship in France; person from Latvia also detained appeared first on Baltic News Network.
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