European intelligence agencies now dedicate as much time and resources to investigating Russian interference as they do to counterterrorism, reflecting the growing scale and sophistication of cyber and sabotage operations attributed to Moscow. The latest example came during France’s Christmas postal rush, when a cyberattack disrupted the country’s national postal service.
Postal Systems Disrupted by Pro-Russian Hackers
French prosecutors said Wednesday that the pro-Russian hacking group Noname057(16) claimed responsibility for the attack on La Poste. Following the claim, the domestic intelligence agency DGSI took over the investigation, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. La Poste’s central computer systems went offline on Monday in a distributed denial-of-service attack that had not been resolved by Wednesday morning. The disruption prevented postal workers from tracking package deliveries and interrupted online payments at La Banque Postale, La Poste’s banking arm, striking at the company during its busiest period of the year. La Poste employs more than 200,000 people.
A Persistent Cyber Threat Across Europe
Noname057(16) has a history of targeting Ukrainian media outlets as well as government and corporate sites in Poland, Sweden and Germany. The group was targeted in July during Operation Eastwood, an international police operation involving authorities from 12 countries. During that crackdown, police dismantled more than 100 servers worldwide, made arrests in France and Spain, and issued seven arrest warrants, six of them for Russian nationals. Despite these efforts, the group resumed operations within days and has remained active, previously attacking French government sites including the Ministry of Justice and several prefectures.
Broader Patterns of Russian Interference
The La Poste disruption came days after the French government reported a cyberattack on the Interior Ministry, which oversees national security. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told Franceinfo that a suspected hacker extracted several dozen sensitive documents and accessed information on police records and wanted individuals. Prosecutors also said France’s counterintelligence agency is investigating a suspected cyber plot involving software that could have enabled remote control of systems on an international passenger ferry, with a Latvian crew member now held on charges of acting for an unidentified foreign power. Nunez strongly hinted at Russian involvement, saying “foreign interference very often comes from same country,” though officials have not formally attributed the attacks.
Hybrid Warfare Targets Western Stability
France and other European allies of Ukraine say Russia is conducting a campaign of “hybrid warfare,” combining sabotage, cyberattacks, assassinations and disinformation to sow division in Western societies and weaken support for Ukraine. On sabotage alone, Western officials have documented scores of incidents across Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, including arson attacks on warehouses, railway sabotage and widespread vandalism. Against this backdrop, intelligence agencies now warn that tracking Russian interference has become as urgent and resource-intensive as confronting terrorism itself.
