The International Criminal Court Hit by Cybersecurity Breach

The International Criminal Court (ICC), located in The Hague, announced on Tuesday that it had been hit by a peculiar cybersecurity incident that disrupted its IT systems. The Court, at present, is investigating allegations of severe human rights abuses, including war crimes committed in Ukraine.

The ICC stated, "Anomalous activity impacting its information systems was detected by the Court's services at the end of last week." In response to the cybersecurity breach, the court has taken immediate measures to mitigate the impacts.

The court refrained from providing further specifics of the incident, stating its primary focus is to ensure the continuity of its work. The probing institution has previously been the target of international espionage attempts. Last year, Dutch authorities claimed to have prevented a Russian spy posing as a Brazilian intern from infiltrating the court. The alleged spy, Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, could have accessed or potentially influenced the ICC’s ongoing investigation into war crimes in Ukraine, asserted Dutch officials.

In parallel, the ICC is investigating crimes against humanity in Ukraine and issued an arrest warrant for the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, last March over alleged forced child deportations. In retaliation, Russian authorities listed the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan on a 'wanted' list. Khan will be participating in a discussion on 'combating cyber operations in warfare' at the United Nations General Assembly later today.