Belgium seeks UK answer over spying attack

Belgian has asked Britain to respond to allegations of massive cyber-attack launched on Belgium’s telecommunications company.

Earlier in September, leaked documents by the National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden indicated that Britain was behind the cyber-espionage scheme targeting Belgium’s telecom operator Belgacom over the past few years.

According to Germany’s Der Spiegel, Britain’s eavesdropping agency the Government Communications Headquarters’ (GCHQ) attempted to hack into Belgium’s biggest telecom firm Belgacom.

The Der Spiegel magazine confirmed that it had seen classified documents related to a GCHQ operation designed “to enable better exploitation” of the company.

It also reported that GCHQ had placed a virus in Belgacom’s network which could have enabled the spying agency to intercept communications.

Belgium federal prosecutors said they had filed a complaint over the attack in July. The prosecutors believe “international state-sponsored cyber espionage” was responsible for the hacking scheme.

“Following the article in Der Spiegel the government asked Belgian intelligence services to ask their British colleagues for more information,” According to a source close to the government.