Cyberattack on the Brenner Tunnel company, investigations

Bbt Se (Brenner Tunnel) was the subject of a targeted cyber attack, during which unauthorized parties had access to data accessible via the Internet, the Tiroler Tageszeitung newspaper reported. The news was confirmed to ANSA by Bbt Se: "As soon as the incident was detected, the company activated the IT security protocols, ensuring the immediate isolation of the affected systems and making use of the support of external cybersecurity specialists to carry out the necessary forensic analyses. All the required procedures have been initiated and the competent authorities have been informed", informs Bbt. Based on the information currently available, the accident would not have had any impact on the company's operational activities. Investigations are still underway to ascertain the details of the attack. The investigations are ongoing.

The cyber attack, specifies Bbt Se - a European joint-stock company responsible for the design and construction of the Brenner Base Tunnel - occurred on 17 October. The competent authorities were promptly informed, the investigations were entrusted to the Bolzano Postal Police and are still ongoing.

The attack would have involved data not accessible to the public, stolen by unauthorized parties via access to the internet. The company declares that the accident did not involve, and does not involve, any risk for the work in progress.

The actual depth of the IT penetration and the extent of the data compromised in the hacker attack that hit the management company Bbt Se still remain to be clarified. The company maintains maximum confidentiality on the matter, avoiding commenting on the possibility of negotiations or the payment of alleged ransoms. As reported by the Austrian newspaper Tiroler Tageszeitung, the group known as 'Everest', attributable to the Russian-speaking cybercrime environment, would end up in the crosshairs of the investigators. It is an international extortion network specializing in data theft, threatening online publication, and demanding money in exchange for silence. The hacker group lists the Brenner Tunnel on its dark web platform as an Austrian attack target.