On Thursday 4 October, the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) condemned several cyber attacks targeting, notably, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.
The same day, the British government announced it had noted that a number of cyber actors widely known to have been conducting cyber attacks around the world are, in fact, the Russian military intelligence service (GRU). Also that day, the Netherlands revealed that, in April, IACO offices in The Hague had been targeted by a hostile cyber operation conducted by the GRU and that the operation had been interrupted by the Dutch intelligence services working with the British services.
After the meeting of defence ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia to “stop this reckless pattern of behaviour”, underlining the solidarity between Allies with The Hague and London against Moscow’s “blatant attempt to undermine international law and international institutions”.
By way of response, “NATO will continue to strengthen its defence and deterrence in the cyber domain”, the secretary general warned, explaining that several Allies had offered to make their cybernetic capabilities available to NATO. Secretary of State for Defence James Mattis announced that the United States would undertake to provide NATO with “cyber capabilities”. He believes the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Estonia will do the same. “These cyber capabilities will make us as strong in cyberspace as we are on land, at sea and in the air”, Stoltenberg said. He went on to add that NATO would remain a defensive alliance and that it would act proportionately in line with international law.
EU deplores Russian action.
In a joint declaration, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini all “deplored such actions, which undermine international law and international institutions”. They especially expressed their “serious concern” about this attempt to undermine the integrity of the OPCW, calling it an “aggressive act” which demonstrates “contempt for the solemn purpose of the organisation”.
Mogherini and Juncker warned that the EU would continue to strengthen the resilience of its institutions and those of its member states, as well as of its partners and international organisations, in the digital field.
Earlier that day, the High Representative had explained upon arriving at NATO that her services and those of the European Commission were currently carrying out review of EU policies in terms of combating cyber attacks, in the hope that this will be completed by December. “We are reviewing all our strategies on cybernetics”, she explained, adding: “We are reviewing the EU’s policies to make them more effective”. She made it clear that the EU was working in coordination with NATO. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)