France Probes ‘Foreign Interference’ After Remote Control Malware Found on Passenger Ferry

According to Associated Press, France’s counterespionage agency is examining a suspected cyberattack plot targeting an international passenger ferry, with a Latvian crew member in custody facing charges of acting for an unnamed foreign power.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez suggested that Russia is suspected, saying foreign interference “very often comes from same country.” Intelligence shared by Italian authorities tipped off the General Directorate of Internal Security that software used by cybercriminals may have infected systems aboard a ferry in the French port of Sète, and the so-called RAT software could have been used to take control of the ferry’s computers, though the ferry’s name was not disclosed.

The Latvian national is being held on charges of criminal conspiracy and hacking-related offences to serve the interests of an unnamed foreign power, with raids carried out in Latvia as part of the investigations. Police had previously arrested two of the ferry’s crew—one Latvian and one Bulgarian—though the Bulgarian was released without charge, and the ferry has since returned to operation after security checks on its computer system.