International Criminal Court Experience Hacking Incident, Investigation Is Being Carried Out

Illustration of a judge at the ICC. (photo: twitter @CIJ_ICJ)

JAKARTA - On Tuesday, September 19, the International Criminal Court (ICC) revealed a hacking incident. This is a violation in one of the world's most famous international institutions.

The ICC said it had detected unusual activity on its computer network last weekend, prompting an ongoing response.

The ICC spokesman declined to comment on how serious the hack was, whether it was fully resolved, or who could be behind it.

"Actions were immediately taken in response to this cybersecurity incident and to reduce its impact," the ICC said in a brief statement.

The ICC is a permanent war crime court in The Hague, which was founded in 2002 to try war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors in this court are currently conducting 17 investigations into the situation, including Ukraine, Uganda, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and the Philippines.

In March, the court was in the spotlight when it issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of illegally deportation of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin rejected the charges and the jurisdiction of the court.

Very sensitive documents on the ICC can cover everything from evidence to the names of witnesses protected, although the court did not disclose which part of the system was accessed.

The ICC said in its statement that it was continuing to "analysis and mitigate the impact of this incident" with the help of the Dutch government.

They also said they were taking steps to strengthen their cybersecurity. "Priority is also given to ensure that the core court work continues," the statement said.

The Dutch intelligence agency (AIVD) in its 2022 annual report stated that the ICC "grabbed Russia's attention because it was investigating possible Russian war crimes in Georgia and Ukraine".

In June 2022, AIVD revealed that it had found a Russian military agent posing as a Brazilian in an attempt to infiltrate the court.