European Commission Investigates 350GB Data Theft Following Breach of Cloud Infrastructure Accounts

The European Commission confirms a cyberattack on its web infrastructure. Learn how hackers allegedly bypassed AWS controls to steal 350GB of data for a leak.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 2, 2026, 9:16 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from CSO Online

Investigating the Scope of the Cloud Infrastructure Compromise

The European Commission is currently conducting an intensive forensic investigation into the unauthorized extraction of data from its cloud-hosting environment earlier this week. While the Commission initially offered sparse details regarding the breach of its Europa.eu platform, subsequent reports indicate that the incident involved the compromise of specific administrative accounts within Amazon Web Services. A spokesperson for Amazon clarified that the event was not a result of a systemic vulnerability within their platform, stating that AWS services operated as designed. This suggests that the breach likely originated from credential theft or misconfigured access controls rather than a flaw in the underlying cloud provider's hardware.

The Threat of Imminent Data Exposure

According to security researchers at Bleeping Computer, an unnamed threat actor has claimed responsibility for the heist, asserting they possess more than 350GB of sensitive Commission data. To validate these claims, the attacker provided several screenshots as evidence of the breach. Unlike traditional ransomware groups that prioritize financial extortion, this particular actor has expressed an intent to leak the stolen information in its entirety. Analysts suggest that this decision indicates a politically motivated attack aimed at causing maximum reputational damage to the European Union's executive branch rather than achieving monetary gain.

Mitigation Efforts and Internal System Integrity

In an official statement, the Commission maintained that its swift response ensured the incident was contained and that risk mitigation measures were promptly implemented to protect ongoing services. Crucially, the organization asserted that its internal IT systems were isolated from the web-hosting infrastructure and remain uncompromised. This incident follows a separate January 30 security event where traces of a cyberattack were identified within the Commission’s mobile device management infrastructure, potentially exposing the contact details of staff members. The recurring nature of these events has raised questions regarding the resilience of the EU's central digital architecture.