Cyber attacks are targeting Italian institutions in an attempt to harm Italians and their digital assets. Security measures are being enforced by the Italian government to prevent data breaches and other forms of cyber threats affecting the European nation.
The past few months have been critical for the Italian government and its cyberspace. Hacker groups from countries like Russia are striking hard at companies and institutions based in Italy. Cyber crime, hacktivism, and cyber espionage, were a few common reasons behind the decline of cyber security among Italians in 2024. Italian authorities are strengthening their firewalls to protect their citizens from being targeted by hackers in 2025 and beyond.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry attacked by hackers
Ten official websites belonging to Italy were attacked at the end of December 2024 by hackers. Italy’s Foreign Ministry and two of Milan’s airports were among the ten websites that were taken down due to cyber attacks. As per official reports, Noname057(16), a hacker group originating from Russia could be responsible for the cyber crimes committed against Italy’s governmental institutions.
Italy’s cyber security agency has stated that Noname057(16) had launched Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks to derail the Italian government. Telegram was one of the mobile apps that was used by the Russian hacker group to attack. These types of cyber attacks rely on flooding the network of digital apps with a high volume of data to restrict online activity.
Government institutions like Italy’s Foreign Ministry received cyber assistance from Italy’s cyber security agency to rectify the attacks. It took less than two hours to eliminate cyber attacks and resume services on the targeted websites. The pro-Russian hacker group did not disrupt flight schedules at the Linate and Malpensa airports in Milan.
Hackers have used these techniques to strike companies in various sectors like online gaming, entertainment, and travel industries. Tons of data can be poured into digital platforms to disable servers and shut down websites to block online services from operating smoothly for their customers. The recent attacks on the Italian institutions have proved that hackers are a real threat to the country.
Ransomware attacks 3 major companies in Italy
Ransomware attacks have hit 3 of the biggest companies in Italy within 24 hours. In June 2024, Cloud Europe, Mangimi Fusco, and Francesco Parisi, had their websites attacked by hackers. Ransomware is malware that can be used by hackers to encrypt data, preventing companies to access the data of their customers till a ransom is released as payment.
Cloud Europe is an Italian company that specializes in the design and management of data centers. Located in Rome, Italy, Cloud Europe has built, managed, and hosted modular infrastructure to store the data of customers in private and public sectors. A hacker group named RansomHub attacked Cloud Europe in 2024 by encrypting 70 TB worth of data. RansomHub had stolen over 541.46 GB of sensitive data and gained access to data of an associated company.
The agro-livestock company, Mangimi Fusco, was also attacked by RansomHub on the same day that the hacker group hit Cloud Europe. Established in 1950, Mangimi Fusco manufactures food items and breeds animals for consumption. The Italian company also provides raw materials and farm products to farmers and merchants in the country. RansomHub has stolen more than 490 GB of confidential data, documents, financial information, and contracts, from Mangimi Fusco.
RansomHouse, a group of hackers had targeted Francesco Parisi’s website with ransomware. The freight forwarding and shipping company is based out of Trieste, Italy, and has been active in Europe for over 200 years. Fransesco Parisi had a total of 150 GB of its data stolen by RansomHouse in 2024. In response to the cyber attack, Francesco Parisi had placed a disclaimer on its website stating that it was targeted by hackers. It also stated that Francesco Parisi is taking immediate action to guard the data of its customers and restore functionality to its website.
Bologna FC attacked by ransomware
Bologna FC is an Italian football club that was founded in 1909. Based in Bologna, Italy, the sports team regularly takes part in the Serie A league. In November 2024, Bologna FC was attacked by ransomware. The official website of Bologna FC confirmed the cyber attack and claimed that hackers had targeted their internal security systems. It had issued a warning that being in possession of stolen data from Bologna FC is a criminal offense and can be treated as a punishable act.
RansomHub could be behind the cyber attacks that led to the Bologna FC outrage. The hacker group had released a public statement that it had stolen over 200 GB of data from the Italian football club. The stolen data included financial statements, medical records of footballers, and private data of employees. RansomHub had threatened Bologna FC with information that could result in violations of the sports club as per regulations assigned by authority bodies in football. FIFA and UEFA could impose fees on Bologna FC for violating certain laws that ensure data protection.
Previously, hacker groups had targeted football governing bodies in the Netherlands. The Royal Dutch Football Association had confirmed that it paid a ransom to protect the data of over 1.2 million employees working with the organization.
Ransomware is best dealt with in the early stages. Italian companies can depend on cyber security firms to provide solutions that can prevent malware and ransomware attacks in the long run. A few precautions can help companies avoid paying out huge sums of money as a ransom to hackers.
