The European Commission has launched an investigation into a cyberattack targeting its Europa.eu platform after the threat group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility and alleged the theft of more than 350GB of data.
According to the group’s post on a dark web leak site, the stolen dataset allegedly includes email server data, databases, confidential documents, and contractual information linked to the Commission’s public web infrastructure. However, EU officials have not verified the authenticity of these claims and stress that the investigation is still ongoing.
The Commission confirmed that the attack was limited to cloud-hosted systems supporting its public-facing websites. Officials emphasized that internal networks and core operational systems were not affected, highlighting the effectiveness of segmentation measures in place. Despite the breach, services remained fully operational, indicating that the attackers likely focused on data exfiltration rather than service disruption As a precaution, the Commission has begun notifying potentially affected EU entities while conducting a detailed forensic analysis to determine the scope of the incident and whether any sensitive information was compromised.
ShinyHunters, the group claiming responsibility, is widely known for targeting organizations and monetizing stolen data through leak portals and extortion tactics. The group has previously been linked to several high-profile breaches involving both corporate and government entities, often exploiting weak credentials, exposed databases, or misconfigured cloud environments.
The Europa.eu platform serves as the European Union’s primary online portal, hosting a broad range of institutional websites used to publish legislation, policy updates, research, and official communications. Given its central role, any compromise raises concerns about potential exposure of sensitive administrative data. This incident follows another cybersecurity event disclosed earlier in 2026, where attackers targeted the Commission’s mobile infrastructure. That breach was contained quickly and reportedly involved limited staff contact data, with no impact on core systems.
The latest attack comes amid growing cyber threats against government institutions across Europe. In response, the European Union has been advancing several initiatives to strengthen its cybersecurity defenses, including the NIS2 Directive, the Cyber Solidarity Act, and a broader Cybersecurity Package aimed at improving resilience and coordinated response across member states While the full extent of the current breach remains unclear, the incident underscores the ongoing risks associated with cloud-based infrastructure and the increasing sophistication of threat actors targeting public sector platforms.
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