Italian authorities have detained a second Latvian sailor suspected of involvement in a cyber attack on the GNV-operated ferry Fantastic.

The arrest was made on board a ship in Naples, and the case has been handed over to the Genoa public prosecutor’s office, which issued the pre-trial detention order.

The investigation began when GNV discovered a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) installed on some of the ferry’s IT systems, which could have allowed the vessel to be controlled remotely.

The shipping company confirmed that the malware was neutralised without any operational impact.

Earlier, French authorities detained two crew members when the ferry arrived at the port of Sete in southern France. One of the detainees was Latvian, the other Bulgarian.

The Latvian sailor faced charges including conspiracy to access a computer system on behalf of a foreign power. French security agencies have indicated that the attempted attack may have been directed by a foreign nation.

The French Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, stated that investigators are treating the incident as a case of foreign interference, and noted that similar operations in France in recent months often originated from the same country, alluding to Russia.

Italian intelligence services, in coordination with GNV, alerted French authorities about the two suspicious crew members, who were part of the ferry’s voyage from Sete to Algeria.

References: ilsole24ore, gospodarkamorska