The International Criminal Court, headquartered in the Hague, disclosed on Friday that the cyberattack it encountered in September was an attempted case of espionage. In a statement assessing the incident, the court stated that it had yet to ascertain the identity of the perpetrators responsible for the attack.
“The evidence available thus far indicates a targeted and sophisticated attack with the objective of espionage,” the court’s statement highlighted, emphasizing the severity of the attack in undermining the Court’s mandate.
While the court safeguards sensitive records related to alleged war crimes under investigation globally, it refrained from divulging whether any data had been pilfered. In the event of any compromised data, the statement assured that immediate contact would be established with the affected parties.
Presently, the prosecutors at the court are actively pursuing 17 investigations into various situations, including those in Ukraine, Uganda, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and the Philippines, among others.
Earlier in the year, the ICC drew attention when it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over allegations of illegally deporting children from Ukraine. The Kremlin swiftly refuted the accusations, dismissing both the charges and the jurisdiction of the court.