Who bugged Belgacom?

The former state telecom monopoly and Belgium's largest telecommunications operator has confirmed the news of the hacking. The daily De Standaard believes that the US intelligence service NSA is behind the espionage.

The hacking came to light after Belgacom enlisted the services of a specialised Dutch firm to check its operations. It emerged that the company's communications infrastructure had been infected with sophisticated malware. As a result outsiders have been able to listen in to Belgacom's systems.

Given the nature of the malware only the American intelligence service NSA or an outfit co-operating with the NSA could have set up the operation. De Standaard believes that the NSA interest was focused on a Belgacom subsidiary BICS that offers worldwide services. BICS is the most important international telecom provider in Africa and the Middle East.

Federal public prosecutors say that the hacking practices point to international state-sponsored cyber espionage. The deployment of important financial and logistic means as well as the complex technical nature of the operation point in this direction.

The Belgian state is Belgacom's most important shareholder. The Belgian government has pledged to take the necessary action.

Belgacom has filed a complaint with the judicial authorities. It says that the attack was directed at its internal computer systems that include all subsidiaries. It adds that it hasn't got any indications that BICS was targeted specifically. The company notes that during the past weekend it carried out an operation to protect the safety of customers and their data.