International Criminal Court targeted by 'sophisticated' cyberattack

Comes less than two years after the ICC revealed a major breach in September 2023, later attributed to a cyber-espionage operation

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed it is investigating a fresh and "sophisticated" cyberattack that targeted its systems last week, marking the second such incident in recent years.

In a statement released Monday, the ICC announced it had "swiftly discovered, confirmed and contained" the attack through its internal alert and response mechanisms.

Describing the incident as "sophisticated and targeted," the Court said its detection systems functioned as intended and that an organisation-wide analysis is now underway to assess the extent and implications of the breach.

While the tribunal stopped short of disclosing specific details about the attackers, data exposure, or operational impacts, it acknowledged that mitigation steps are already in progress.

"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. Such support ensures the Court's capacity to implement its critical mandate of justice and accountability, which is a shared responsibility of all States Parties," the ICC said.

This latest cyber incident comes less than two years after the ICC revealed a major breach in September 2023, later attributed to a cyber-espionage operation.

At that time, the Court said the attack was "a serious attempt to undermine the Court's mandate," carried out through a highly targeted intrusion.

Though no perpetrator was identified, the ICC reported at the time that there was no evidence any sensitive data had been compromised.

The breach had occurred during a period of "persistent" digital threats, including repeated attack attempts and even an "almost successful" attempt to embed a hostile intelligence officer at the ICC under the guise of an intern.

The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, was established in 2002 to investigate and prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Its high-profile activities have increasingly made it a target of political and cyber hostility.

In March 2023, the Court issued a warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

That was followed by another high-profile warrant in November 2023 for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tied to the ongoing conflict in Palestine.

The US government, particularly under the Trump administration, responded to these moves by slapping sanctions on ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.

Earlier this year, Khan lost access to his official Microsoft-hosted email, an incident that sparked a wave of political concern across Europe and intensified calls to decouple sensitive institutional communications from US-controlled tech providers.

The timing of this most recent cyberattack has raised further suspicion. It coincided with last week's NATO Summit held in The Hague, during which Dutch authorities recorded a wave of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting local governments and public institutions.

Though limited in their impact, those attacks were claimed by pro-Russian hacktivist groups online.

Adding to the unease, a large-scale power outage crippled train services across the Netherlands last Tuesday.

The cause remains under investigation, and Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius has not ruled out sabotage as a potential factor.