Cyber attack on OPCW "serious and worrying" - Paris

United Kingdom – Cyber attacks – Statement by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson

Paris, 4 October 2018

The United Kingdom has suffered several cyber attacks, whose perpetrators it has identified as belonging to the Russian military intelligence services (GRU). The Netherlands has also announced that it thwarted a cyber attack against the IT systems of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), based in The Hague, and expelled four Russian agents.

The acts reported are serious and worrying. France expresses its full solidarity with its allies and the international organizations targeted by such attacks.

The OPCW is the guarantor of the global ban on the use of chemical weapons. Among other things, it is conducting independent scientific investigations into the nature of the product used in the chemical attack in Salisbury in the UK, and to identify the perpetrators of cases of chemical weapons use in Syria. Its mission is essential for supporting the fight against the proliferation of chemical weapons, which is a priority. Both in cyberspace and in other fields, international law applies and states are required to comply with it./.