London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

NATO cybersecurity contractor gets 10 GB of data STOLEN from it, arrests made over YEARS-LONG data theft scheme

NATO cybersecurity contractor gets 10 GB of data STOLEN from it, arrests made over YEARS-LONG data theft scheme

Two suspects have been arrested by the Italian police on charges of stealing sensitive data from the computers of an Italian defense group Leonardo for years. The company provides cybersecurity services to NATO.
Based in Rome, Leonardo specializes in aerospace and security, being one of the world's largest contractors that boasts having NATO among its customers when it comes to the field of cybersecurity. Yet, its image suffered a heavy blow when it turned out that its own former employee and a contractor managed to get past the company’s cybersecurity defenses and steal sensitive data from right under its nose.

Following a lengthy investigation, prosecutors from the Italian city of Naples have found out that two hackers managed to get away with stealing the company’s secrets between 2015 and 2017. Both men were detained on Saturday.

One of the suspects allegedly infected the company’s computers with a specially engineered Trojan virus through a USB device. The virus then spread to 94 machines belonging to IT departments of the company’s Aerostructures and Aircraft Divisions, including 33 located at a factory located in the town of Pomigliano d'Arco, near Naples.

Over two years, the hackers managed to steal some 10 gigabytes of data equaling some 100,000 files, including management and human resources records, information on procurement and distribution of capital goods as well as documents related to the design of civil and military aircraft. The virus also infected over 50 computers belonging to other companies and individuals that were active in the aerospace industry.

The investigation was launched following a complaint filed by the company itself, Leonardo said in a statement, adding that the defense group “is obviously the injured party in this affair,” adding that it “has provided maximum cooperation” to the police and “will continue to do so to enable the investigators to clarify the incident.”

According to the Italian media, the company alerted the law enforcement in 2017 after it detected suspicious data flows coming from some of its computers. Leonardo also only identified the suspects as a “collaborator” and a “non-executive employee” of the company.

Italian La Reppublica newspaper said that the company’s former consultant, Arturo D'Elia, was identified as the alleged hacker and placed into custody while the company’s employee, Antonio Rossi, was put under house arrest. Some other reports also suggested that the head of the company’s Cyber Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) was suspected of attempts to obstruct the investigation by providing them with misleading data.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×