Tag Archive for: Vatican

Vatican urged to create “Cyber Security Authority”


A group of Catholic computer experts, two whose services are employed by the Roman Curia, are calling for the creation of  a “Vatican Cyber Security Authority”. The proposal, which was made at the end of May in an article published on the LinkedIn social network, comes at a time when the Holy See has experienced an increasing number of cyber attacks. 

The authors of the article – Professors Chuck Brooks and Alessio Pecorario of Georgetown University in Washington, IT specialist Andreas Iacovou, and lawyer Yuriy Tykhovlis – aim to draw attention to two points. Firstly, the Vatican can no longer wait to take action on its own against the threats it is facing. Secondly, the Catholic Church should participate in the global reflection on the subject.

The authors say the “Catholic world” itself is in fact exposed to major threats. In particular, they say the Church runs the risk of having its “online donations” hacked. And they say Catholic healthcare facilities are prime targets from hackers who cease data in return for a ransom. Furthermore, they say the Holy See as a state-like entity is a target of “interference in diplomatic activities”.

“Weaknesses in the Vatican’s digital infrastructure”

In the face of these threats, a “Vatican cyber authority” could thus develop “policies and procedures to protect the Vatican’s digital assets, including its networks, servers, and databases”, as well as “identify potential cyber threats and weaknesses in the Vatican’s digital infrastructure” and provide internal training in the matter.

To be effective, the researchers recommend, this new Vatican authority should “be staffed by experienced cyber security professionals with expertise in a wide range of areas, including network security, incident response, and digital forensics”.

This group of experts, of which there is no equivalent in the Vatican today, should also “share information about cyber threats” with authorities in other governments, and contribute to global thinking on the subject.

“The Holy See is entitled to propose, discuss, negotiate, and promote a new normative paradigm on the governance of new technologies,” write the authors of the article,…

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Cyber security expert urges Vatican to strengthen internet defenses against hackers


.- A cyber security expert has urged the Vatican to take immediate action to strengthen its defenses against hackers.

Andrew Jenkinson​, group CEO of Cybersec Innovation Partners (CIP) in London, told CNA that he had contacted the Vatican in July to express concern about its vulnerability to cyber attacks.

He said that to date he had received no response, despite making several further attempts to raise the issue with the appropriate Vatican office.

The British cyber security consultancy approached the Vatican following reports in July that suspected Chinese state-sponsored hackers had targeted Vatican computer networks. CIP offered its services to address the vulnerabilities. 

In a July 31 email to the Gendarmerie Corps of Vatican City State, seen by CNA, Jenkinson suggested that the breach might have occurred through one of the Vatican’s many subdomains. 

Vatican City has a sprawling system of websites administered by the Internet Office of the Holy See and organized under the country code top-level domain “.va”. The Vatican’s web presence has expanded steadily since its launched its main website, www.vatican.va, in 1995. 

Jenkinson sent follow-up emails in August and October, emphasizing the urgency of tackling weaknesses in the Vatican’s cyber defenses. He noted that www.vatican.va remained “not secure” months after the breach was reported. He also sought to contact the Vatican through intermediaries.

The Gendarmerie Corps confirmed Nov. 14 that it had received the information sent by Jenkinson. Its command office told CNA that his concerns “have been duly taken into consideration and transmitted, as far as their competence is concerned, to the offices that manage the website in question.”

A report, released July 28, said that hackers had breached Vatican websites in an attempt to give China an advantage in negotiations to renew a provisional deal with the Holy See.  

Researchers said they had uncovered “a cyberespionage campaign attributed to a suspected Chinese state-sponsored threat activity group,” which they referred to as RedDelta.

The study was compiled by the Insikt Group, the research arm…

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In Attack on Vatican Web Site, a Glimpse of Hackers’ Tactics – Pittsburgh Post Gazette

In Attack on Vatican Web Site, a Glimpse of Hackers' Tactics
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Anonymous, which first gained widespread notice with an attack on the Church of Scientology in 2008, has since carried out hundreds of increasingly bold strikes, taking aim at perceived enemies including law enforcement agencies, Internet security

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“internet security” – read more