European intelligence agencies now dedicate as much attention to suspected Russian interference as they do to terrorist threats, reflecting the growing scale and sophistication of cyber and sabotage operations across the continent. This pressure has intensified following a major cyberattack that disrupted France’s national postal service during the Christmas delivery rush.
Postal Service Disrupted Amid Holiday Rush
French prosecutors said Wednesday that the pro-Russian hacking group Noname057(16) claimed responsibility for the attack. Following the claim, the domestic intelligence agency DGSI took over the investigation, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. La Poste’s central computer systems went offline on Monday in a distributed denial-of-service attack that remained unresolved by Wednesday morning. Postal workers could not track packages, and online payments at the company’s banking arm, La Banque Postale, were also affected. The disruption hit at the peak of the year for La Poste, which employs over 200,000 people.
Noname057(16): A Persistent Cyber Threat
Noname057(16) has previously targeted Ukrainian media outlets, as well as government and corporate websites in Poland, Sweden, and Germany. In July, the group became the focus of Operation Eastwood, a coordinated international police effort involving 12 countries. Authorities dismantled more than 100 servers worldwide, arrested two suspects in France and Spain, and issued seven arrest warrants, six of them for Russian nationals. Despite this crackdown, the group resumed operations within days and remains active. The hackers have also targeted French government sites, including the Ministry of Justice and several regional prefectures and city administrations.
Growing Pattern of Sabotage and Cyber Intrusion
The La Poste incident came days after France disclosed a cyberattack on the Interior Ministry, which oversees national security. In that breach, a suspected hacker extracted dozens of sensitive documents and gained access to police records and data on wanted individuals, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told broadcaster Franceinfo. Last week, prosecutors revealed that France’s counterintelligence agency is investigating a suspected cyberattack plot involving software that could have allowed remote control of computer systems on an international passenger ferry. Authorities said a Latvian crew member is in custody on charges of acting for an unidentified foreign power.
Russian Involvement Suspected
While no official attribution has been made, Nunez strongly suggested Russian involvement, saying that “foreign interference very often comes from same country.” France and other European allies of Ukraine accuse Russia of waging a campaign of “hybrid warfare” combining sabotage, cyberattacks, assassinations, and disinformation to destabilize Western societies and undermine support for Kyiv. Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western officials have linked dozens of incidents across Europe to Russia, including arson attacks on warehouses, railway sabotage, and widespread vandalism. European intelligence agencies warn that investigating Russian interference now commands as much attention and resources as tracking terrorist threats.
