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Associated Press
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
International Criminal Court hit with cyber security attack
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court has been targeted by a 'sophisticated' cyberattack and is taking measures to limit any damage, the global tribunal announced Monday. The ICC, which also was hit by a cyberattack in 2023, said the latest incident had been contained but did not elaborate further on the impact or possible motive. 'A Court-wide impact analysis is being carried out, and steps are already being taken to mitigate any effects of the incident,' the court said in a statement. The attack happened last week. 'All necessary measures have been taken to ensure the business continuity,' court spokesman Fadi El Abdallah told The Associated Press. The incident happened in the same week that The Hague hosted a summit of 32 NATO leaders at a conference center near the court amid tight security including measures to guard against cyberattacks. The court declined to say whether any confidential information had been compromised. The ICC has a number of high-profile investigations and preliminary inquiries underway in nations around the world and has in the past been the target of espionage. In 2022, a Dutch intelligence agency said it had foiled a plot by a Russian spy using a false Brazilian identity to work as an intern at the court, which is investigating allegations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine and has issued a war crimes arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. Arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, over Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza have also drawn ire. U.S. President Donald Trump slapped sanctions on its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, in February and earlier this month also sanctioned four judges at the court. The court is still feeling the effects of the last cyberattack, with wifi still not completely restored to its purpose-built headquarters.
Russia Today
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
UK wasted 20 years searching for ‘Russian mole' in MI6
British intelligence agencies spent two decades hunting a suspected Russian double agent inside MI6, only to drop the case after failing to find evidence, The Guardian has reported, citing unnamed sources. The investigation, dubbed Operation Wedlock, was eventually closed as 'inconclusive,' and the suspect left service, the outlet said on Friday. The probe, which reportedly ran from the mid-1990s to around 2015, was led by MI5, the UK's domestic counter-intelligence agency. MI6, which is responsible for foreign intelligence, launched the inquiry after a CIA tip-off suggested a senior officer may have been spying for Russia. '[We were told] the target was a Russian spy… The US believed he was leaking information to the Russians,' a source told The Guardian. 'The job was taken more seriously than any other [MI5] was involved in. Wedlock eclipsed them all.' The operation allegedly involved some 35 officers. MI5 is said to have bugged the suspect's home, tailed him around London with video surveillance, and even followed him abroad, despite that being outside its legal mandate. MI5 reportedly believed the mole had two accomplices based in London but found no supporting evidence. 'We thought we had another Philby on our hands,' a source told the outlet, referring to Kim Philby, one of the most prominent members of the intelligence group Cambridge Five, which supplied the Soviet Union with information from the UK during World War II and the early stages of the Cold War. The Wedlock spy saga is believed to have dragged on until at least 2015, by which time the suspect had left MI6. Despite the scope of the operation, MI5 failed to prove any espionage. 'MI5 never got the conclusive proof it was looking for,' one source said, calling Wedlock 'highly unusual… the longest in recent memory and probably the most expensive.' The UK has repeatedly accused Russia of espionage and sabotage in Europe without offering proof. In a high-profile case in 2018, London alleged Moscow tried to poison ex-Russian military intelligence officer turned MI6 asset Sergey Skripal and his daughter. Russia denied involvement. Tensions between Moscow and London have worsened since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The UK is one of Kiev's staunchest backers, imposing sanctions on Russia and supplying weapons to Ukraine. Russian officials believe that British intelligence trains Ukrainian units for sabotage missions inside Russia.
