The European Space Agency (ESA) has acknowledged a cybersecurity incident that affected a small portion of its digital infrastructure, confirming on December 30, 2025, that several science-related servers were breached. As of January 2, 2026, the agency says a detailed forensic probe is still underway to fully understand the scope of the intrusion.
What Happened
Early signs of the breach surfaced on December 26, after
claims appeared on the underground forum BreachForums. A hacker operating under
the alias “888” alleged responsibility, stating they maintained unauthorized
access to ESA systems for nearly a week beginning around December 18.
Systems and Data Exposure
According to ESA, the incident was confined to a very
limited number of externally hosted servers that sit outside its main corporate
network. These systems were reportedly used for collaborative engineering and
research activities rather than mission-critical operations.
The attacker claims to have exfiltrated around 200 GB of internal
data, allegedly including:
Private source code repositories hosted on Bitbucket
CI/CD workflow files and Terraform-based infrastructure
scripts
API keys, access tokens, and embedded credentials
Internal technical documentation, SQL database files, and
confidential records
ESA has emphasized that these servers did not contain
classified information or sensitive mission data, and there is currently no
indication that core operational systems were impacted.
ESA’s Response
Following detection, ESA launched a comprehensive security
investigation to identify affected assets, lock down vulnerabilities, and
prevent further unauthorized access. Relevant partners and collaborators have
been notified as part of standard incident response procedures.
A Pattern of Cyber Threats
This breach comes just a year after a separate cyber incident in December 2024, when ESA’s online retail platform was compromised by a credit card–skimming attack—highlighting the growing cybersecurity challenges faced even by high-profile space and research organizations.
By - Aaradhay Sharma
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