France is investigating foreign interference after malware was found on a passenger ferry, leading to the arrest of a Latvian national in a case handled by domestic intelligence.
PARIS: France is investigating possible foreign interference after a Latvian national was arrested over malware discovered on a passenger ferry.
The malicious software was capable of allowing the vessel’s operating systems to be controlled remotely, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.
The malware was found on the ferry Fantastic, which belongs to Italian shipping company GNV and has a capacity for over 2,000 passengers.
It was discovered while the vessel was docked in the Mediterranean port of Sete.
Italian authorities had warned France that the ship’s operating system could have been infected by a Remote Access Trojan (RAT).
This type of malware allows a hacker to gain remote control of a system.
Two crew members, a Latvian and a Bulgarian, were detained last week after their identities were flagged by Italian authorities.
The Bulgarian was later freed, but the Latvian was charged and placed under arrest.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation into a suspected bid “by an organised group to attack an automated data-processing system, with the aim of serving the interests of a foreign power”.
“This is a very serious matter… individuals tried to hack into a ship’s data-processing system,” Nunez told France Info radio.
He confirmed investigators were “obviously looking into interference”.
Nunez refused to comment on whether the attack aimed to divert the ship and did not name Russia directly. He stated, however, that “these days one country is very often behind foreign interference”.
The investigation is being led by France’s domestic intelligence service, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), highlighting the case’s gravity.
The DGSI conducted an emergency inspection of the cordoned-off ferry, leading to the seizure of several items.
The vessel was subsequently cleared to sail again after technical checks were completed and any danger to those on board was ruled out.
Emergency searches were also conducted in Latvia with support from Eurojust and Latvian authorities.
The lawyer for the Latvian national, Thibault Bailly, said he believed the “theory of Russian interference evoked in the press seems superfluous”.
He added that the investigation would demonstrate the case “is not as worrying as it may have initially seemed”.
