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Operation Socialist is the code name given by the British signals and communications agency
Government Communications Headquarters Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Unit ...
(GCHQ) to an operation in which GCHQ successfully breached the infrastructure of the Belgian telecommunications company
Belgacom The Proximus Group is a provider of digital services and communication in Belgium and the international markets. In Belgium, its main products and services are offered under the Proximus, Scarlet, and Mobile Vikings brands. The Group is also a ...
between 2010 and 2013. The operation's existence was first revealed in documents leaked by the former
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collectio ...
contractor
Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
. GCHQ used a method called Quantum Insert attack embedded in fake
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...
pages targeting Belgacom engineers. The breach was conducted under the code name 'OP Socialist'. The main target of the clandestine infiltration was to gain access to Belgacom's GRX Operator to enable GCHQ to obtain roaming data for mobile devices and execute what is generally referred to as
Man-in-the-middle attack In cryptography and computer security, a man-in-the-middle, monster-in-the-middle, machine-in-the-middle, monkey-in-the-middle, meddler-in-the-middle, manipulator-in-the-middle (MITM), person-in-the-middle (PITM) or adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) ...
against targets. When the first anomalies were detected in 2012, Belgacom's security team were unable to identify their cause. Only in 2013
malware Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, dep ...
disguised as legitimate Microsoft software had been identified as the source of problems. According to the leaked documents GCHQ probed Belgacom's infrastructure for years. According to the leaked documents 'Operation Socialist' has been qualified by the head of the GCHQ's Network Analysis Centre as a success. Snowden subsequently described Operation Socialist as the "first documented example to show one EU member state mounting a cyber attack on another".


References

{{Reflist Proximus Group Cyberattacks GCHQ operations Intelligence agency programmes revealed by Edward Snowden Secret government programs Belgium–United Kingdom relations