Belgium

Professor Jean-Jacques Quisquater, a Belgian cryptographer whose work is said to have informed card payment systems worldwide, has reportedly become the victim of a spear-phishing attack by the NSA and/or GCHQ.

Belgium's De Standaaard reports that Professor Quisquater clicked on a fake LinkedIn invitation that infected his computer with something even nastier than the endless claims of industry leadership spouted by those most active on that network. The malware is said to have allowed tracking of the Professor's work, including consultancy for various firms.

Belgium’s main phone operator said Monday its systems have been hacked in what the government described as a suspected incident of cyber-espionage.

Initial information points toward a sophisticated system of intrusion not for sabotage purposes but for “strategic information gathering” with the technology used suggesting “a high-level involvement by another country,” Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo said in a statement.

Hackers have sent emails from Belgium's Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo's personal account to De Morgen newspaper, the daily said on Friday.

Dating from 2004 to 2008 when Di Rupo was president of Belgium's socialist party and before he became prime minister in 2011, the emails were mostly of a private nature, although some did refer to his political activities, the paper said.

It did not publish the emails.

Hackers claimed to have breached the systems of the Belgian credit provider Elantis and threatened to publish confidential customer information if the bank does not pay €150,000 (£122,000) before Friday, May 4, they said in a statement posted to Pastebin. Elantis confirmed the data breach on Thursday, but the bank said it will not give in to extortion threats.