FILE - Erik Akerboom, director-general of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service, AIVD, attends a press conference in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
FILE - Erik Akerboom, director-general of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service, AIVD, attends a press conference in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) 鈥 A previously unknown Russian hacker group with suspected ties to the Kremlin was responsible for a cyberattack last year on the Dutch police and has also targeted other Western nations that deliver military support to Ukraine, intelligence agencies announced Tuesday.
The agencies said in a report that the group, which they called Laundry Bear, is actively trying to steal sensitive data from European Union and NATO countries and is 鈥渆xtremely likely Russian state supported.鈥
鈥淟aundry Bear is after information about the purchase and production of military equipment by Western governments and Western deliveries of weapons to Ukraine,鈥 Vice Adm. Peter Reesink, director of the military intelligence agency MIVD, said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the report.
The Netherlands has been a strong supporter of Ukraine's war effort since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has given military equipment, including .
The Russian hackers and accessed work-related contact details of all Dutch police officers in September last year, in a cyberattack that sent shockwaves through the force.
The Dutch intelligence agencies published a detailed analysis of methods used by the hacker group to break into computer networks and cloud services.
Erik Akerboom, chief of the domestic intelligence agency AIVD, said that outlining the group's work means that 鈥渘ot only governments, but also manufacturers, suppliers and other targets can arm themselves against this form of espionage. This limits Laundry Bear鈥檚 chances of success and digital networks can be better protected.鈥
The attack discovered in the Netherlands is one of a growing number around the world.
Last week, the U.S. National Security Agency said that targeted Western technology and logistics companies involved in shipping .
And last month, the French government linked to Russian military intelligence of cyberattacks over three years, , French government agencies and companies.
