International Criminal Court Hit by “Sophisticated and Targeted” Attack – Source: www.infosecurity-magazine.com

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been hit by a new “sophisticated and targeted” cybersecurity incident.

The Netherlands-headquartered tribunal, which tries individuals suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity, revealed on Monday June 30 that the incident took place late in the previous week.

The incident has been contained through the Court’s alert and response mechanisms.

“A Court-wide impact analysis is being carried out, and steps are already being taken to mitigate any effects of the incident,” the ICC statement read.

The Court urged for support from the international community to help mitigate the incident, ensuring it is able to effectively continue its work investigating and prosecuting suspected crimes against humanity.

“The Court considers it essential to inform the public and its States Parties about such incidents as well as efforts to address them and calls for continued support in the face of such challenges,” the ICC said.

New Incident Follows Confirmed Espionage Attack

The ICC said the incident was the second “of its type” it had been hit by in recent years.

This refers to a September 2023 attack on its IT systems. This was later confirmed to be espionage-related, although no attribution has been given to date.

The 2023 incident was interpreted “as a serious attempt to undermine the court’s mandate.”

The ICC is currently investigating alleged crimes in a number of jurisdictions around the world, including issuing arrest warrants for high profile leaders, potentially making it the target of a range of nation-state actors.

This includes an ongoing investigation into alleged crimes committed by Russian forces in the war against Ukraine. From these investigations, an arrest warrant was issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023.

As part of its investigations into various alleged crimes in the State of Palestine, in November 2024 the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There are ongoing investigations in 10 other jurisdictions, including The Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Libya.

Courts hold a significant volume of highly sensitive information, making them a high-profile target for a range of purposes, including ransomware attacks, disruptive attacks and attempting to influence individual cases.

In January 2024, the Court Services Victoria (CSV) in Australia revealed that hackers potentially accessed hearings of court recordings, potentially impacting people whose identities are protected.

In 2022, a Congress hearing disclosed a breach of a court records system in the US, potentially providing attackers access to sensitive documents across the court system.

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