On January 30, the European Commission detected and swiftly contained a cyber-attack targeting its central infrastructure responsible for managing staff mobile devices.
While preliminary investigations suggest that attackers may have accessed staff names and phone numbers, no mobile devices were found to be compromised during the incident.
The breach was identified by internal monitoring systems, which alerted Commission cybersecurity teams to suspicious activity involving the mobile infrastructure. Within nine hours, the affected systems were fully cleaned and secured, preventing further escalation or lateral movement. The Commission emphasized that it is treating the incident with the utmost seriousness and has launched a thorough internal review to understand the origin and potential impact of the intrusion.
The targeted system manages mobile infrastructure used by Commission staff, which includes both administrative personnel and senior officials. Although the breach did not extend to device-level compromises or deeper internal systems, even limited exposure of personal contact information raises the risk of phishing or social engineering attacks.
The attack comes amid heightened awareness of cyber and hybrid threats facing European institutions. Just ten days prior, on January 20, the European Commission had introduced a sweeping Cybersecurity Package aimed at reinforcing the Union’s digital defenses. Central to this initiative is the Cybersecurity Act 2.0, which establishes a framework for building a Trusted ICT Supply Chain across member states, designed to reduce reliance on high-risk vendors.
This initiative is further supported by the NIS2 Directive, which unifies cybersecurity obligations across 18 critical sectors, and the Cyber Solidarity Act, which enables coordinated incident response via the European Cyber Shield and Cyber Emergency Mechanism. Together, these instruments aim to build a resilient, collective defense posture against evolving cyber threats.
In response to the latest incident, the Commission has pledged to take all necessary steps to bolster its internal cybersecurity, using lessons from this attack to inform ongoing enhancements. Officials have also reiterated the importance of EU-wide coordination to defend against increasingly sophisticated and persistent threat actors targeting European governance structures.
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