Hackers attacked the tribunal in The Hague. The spokesman declined to comment
The International Criminal Court said its computer system had been hacked. Sensitive data could fall into the wrong hands.
This constitutes a serious breach in the system of one of the most renowned international institutions in the world, which deals with highly sensitive information on war crimes. The captured data may include, among others: criminal evidence and the names of protected witnesses, although the ICC representative did not reveal what information might have leaked from the system.
Hacker attack on the ICC. The Ministry of Justice supports the investigation
The ICC said it detected unusual activity on its computer network late last week. Actions were implemented and have been carried out since then. However, a spokesman for the UN judicial body declined to comment on how serious the hack was, whether it had been fully resolved or who might be behind it.
A spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Justice confirmed that the country’s Cyber Security Center is involved in the investigation, but declined to provide details.
Data from at least 17 investigations at risk
“Immediate actions were taken to respond to this cybersecurity incident and mitigate its impact,” the ICC said in a short statement.
The International Criminal Court is a permanent war crimes tribunal established in 2002. Its purpose is to try war crimes and crimes against humanity. The tribunal’s prosecutors are currently conducting 17 investigations into crimes committed, among others, in Ukraine, Uganda, Venezuela, Afghanistan and the Philippines.
In 2016, Russia announced that it was breaking off relations with the ICC by withdrawing its signature from the founding treaty (Rome Statute).
On March 17 this year, an international court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for the crime of forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russian territory.
