French authorities are investigating a suspected foreign interference operation after malware capable of remote system control was discovered aboard a passenger ferry docked in the Mediterranean port of Sete, according to a report from Le Monde with AFP.
The malware was found on the Fantastic, a passenger ferry with a capacity of over 2,000 operated by Italian shipping company GNV, part of Swiss-based MSC Group. Italian authorities alerted France that the vessel’s operating system may have been infected with a Remote Access Trojan (RAT), which enables hackers to gain remote control of a system.
Two crew members—a Latvian and a Bulgarian—were detained last week after being flagged by Italian authorities. The Bulgarian was released, but the Latvian was charged and remains under arrest. The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into a suspected bid “by an organized group to attack an automated data-processing system, with the aim of serving the interests of a foreign power.”
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