NSA suspected of spying on Belgium's largest telecom firm

Belgium’s main phone operator said its systems have been hacked in what the government described as a suspected incident of cyber-espionage. Belgian telco Belgacom - which operates vital undersea communications cables - says its internal network was compromised, possibly by foreign spooks. Phone and data connections from international hot spots, such as Syria and Yemen, pass through submarine fibre lines handled by Belgacom International Carrier Services, the Voice of Russia reported. Security experts suspect the Belgian biz was infiltrated by state-backed hackers – including the US National Security Agency (NSA) and GCHQ as the prime suspects. Journalists in Belgium cite sources who reckon Belgacom’s systems may have been compromised for two years by a foreign intelligence agency. The Belgacom statement makes no mention of the likely culprit, saying only that it "has filed a complaint against an unknown third party and is granting its full support to the investigation that is being performed by the Federal Prosecutor." The main thrust of the statement is that an intrusion was discovered and removed, and that Belgacom customers have not been impacted. Neither the government nor Belgacom commented on whom they suspected was behind the spying attack, citing the ongoing judicial investigation. Still, the incident came only weeks after reports based on material leaked by Edward Snowden which claimed that US surveillance agencies were eavesdropping on European Union institutions based in Brussels. The European Commission, the 28-nation bloc’s executive arm, at that moment said it was seeking clarification from the US government. Stefaan Van Hecke, a member of the Belgian Federal Parliament and leader of the Green party, immediately called for the suspension of the EU/US free trade negotiations if it is shown that the NSA is implicated in the hack. Renaat Landuyt, a member of the Belgian the SP.A party, added his own concern over the lack of action against NSA intrusions. "We know that it happens, we know how easily that happens, and everyone continues as if nothing happened."