JAKARTA - The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Tuesday that its computer system had been hacked, a breach of one of the world's most renowned international institutions, which handles highly sensitive information about war crimes.
The ICC said it had detected unusual activity on its computer network at the end of last week, triggering a response that is still ongoing.
A spokesperson declined to comment on how serious the hack was, whether it had been fully resolved, or who might be behind it.
"Immediate steps were taken to respond to this cyber security incident and to reduce its impact," said the ICC in a brief statement, reported by Reuters, September 20.
It is known that the ICC is a permanent war crimes court in the city of The Hague, Netherlands, which was established in 2002 to try war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Prosecutors at the court are currently conducting 17 investigations into situations in Ukraine, Uganda, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and the Philippines.
In March, the ICC made headlines when it issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of illegally deporting children from Ukraine. The Kremlin rejects the allegations and the court's jurisdiction.
Highly sensitive documents at the ICC can include anything from criminal evidence to the names of protected witnesses, although the court does not reveal which parts of its systems have been accessed.
The ICC said in a statement it was continuing to "analyze and mitigate the impact of this incident" with the help of the Dutch government. It said it was also taking steps to strengthen its cyber security.
Separately, a spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Justice confirmed that the National Cyber Security Center supported the investigation but declined to comment further.
Meanwhile, the President of the ICC Bar Association, Marie-Hélène Proulx, said lawyers for the defendants and victims were affected "as much as the court staff" by unspecified security measures taken in response to the incident.
"We applaud the efforts in securing the court's information system and hope this situation will be resolved soon," he said.
Previously, the Dutch Intelligence Service (AIVD) said in its 2022 annual report that the ICC was "of interest to Russia because it is investigating possible Russian war crimes in Georgia and Ukraine".
In June 2022, AIVD revealed they had discovered Russian military agents posing as Brazilian citizens in an attempt to infiltrate the judiciary.
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In August 2023 ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said cyber attacks could form part of future war crimes investigations. He warned the ICC itself may be vulnerable and must strengthen its defenses.
"Disinformation, tampering, alteration of data, and leaks of confidential information can obstruct the administration of justice at the ICC and, as such, constitute crimes within the ICC's jurisdiction that can be investigated or prosecuted," he wrote in Foreign Policy.
"But prevention is still better than cure," he said.
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