Hackers breach the company building the Brenner Base Tunnel, weeks after the Fehmarnbelt contractor

A BBT SE spokeswoman told the Tiroler Tageszeitung that the attackers gained partial access to data reachable over the internet, blue News reported. The company said it isolated the affected systems, brought in outside specialists for forensic analysis and notified authorities, according to Euronews. What was taken, and how far the intruders got into the network, is still unclear. BBT SE would not say whether it has negotiated with or paid the attackers.

Everest, a Russian-speaking group active since 2020, now relies more on stealing data and threatening to publish it than on encrypting systems, according to blue News. In July it reached train maker Stadler Rail's data through a supplier's file-sharing platform and demanded 10 million Swiss francs; Stadler refused to pay. Officials have not confirmed that Everest carried out the Brenner attack. Austria's state security agency knows about the attack and is talking with ÖBB, blue News reported, citing the newspaper Heute.

The tunnel will link Innsbruck, Austria, with Fortezza, Italy, over 55 km, or 64 km counting the existing Innsbruck bypass, and is officially due to open in 2032. RailFreight.com noted it is the second hack in a few weeks to hit a big rail tunnel job on the Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor, after hackers went after the contractor building the Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Denmark and Germany in October.