Authorities say a remote access tool discovered aboard an Italian passenger ferry could have enabled external control.
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(Image credit: Nicolas Parent/L'Independant/MAXPPP) Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Flipboard Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google French authorities have arrested a Latvian national suspected of installing malware aboard an Italian passenger ferry while it was docked in southern France, after investigators determined that infected onboard systems could potentially have been accessed remotely. The case, reported by Le Monde , is now being handled by an investigating judge in Paris and has drawn attention to how closely modern ship navigation might sit alongside conventional IT systems.
The vessel involved, the Fantastic, is operated by Italian shipping company Grandi Navi Veloci and was docked in the Mediterranean port of Sète when the malware was discovered. Italian authorities had warned France that the vessel’s operating system could have been infected by a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) , which enables hackers to gain remote control of a system.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, two crew members were initially detained. A Bulgarian national was released without charge, while a Latvian crew member who had recently joined the ship remains in custody. Prosecutors say that an investigation has been opened into a suspected attempt "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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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/french-ferry-malware-arrest-exposes-fragile-boundaries-between-ship-it-and-navigation-systems#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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