Cyber alert triggered within the government. Piantedosi: “We are concerned”. Row over Islam

On the one hand, the line taken is one of ‘no cause for alarm’, at least for the time being, but rather one of the utmost vigilance on the part of all the institutional bodies involved in the hacking of the supermarkets’ cooling systems. Or at least this is, in essence, the line that emerged yesterday from the summit held at Palazzo Chigi with the Under-Secretary to the Prime Minister with responsibility for the Security Services, Alfredo Mantovano; the Minister for Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida; the Director of the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN), Andrea Quacivi; and the heads of the security agencies. On the other hand, however, in a moment of candour, it was the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, who admitted that “there is concern. This has happened in several countries and is presumably a coordinated initiative at European level by someone harbouring clear hostility”. Going into more detail on the alert, and navigating between these two positions, yesterday COPASIR hosted a hearing with the director of the Internal Security Information Agency (AISI), Bruno Valensise. Today, the committee – chaired by Lorenzo Guerini of the Democratic Party – will hear from Quacivi himself, to gain a more specific picture of the cyber-attacks of recent days. According to a government assessment, the impact on the network of Italian supermarket chains affected by the cyber-attack was “limited”. Dozens of businesses were hit, explained the heads of the various agencies, but these were mostly characterised by cyber-security systems described as “obsolete”. This contrasts with the majority of large-scale retailers, which are equipped with more sophisticated cyber-security systems (and are not exposed online). However, in Sicily, the businesses affected report losses “running into millions of euros”. Lollobrigida’s presence, moreover, was linked to potential food safety emergencies arising from the malfunction of the refrigeration network. However, no ‘critical issues’ regarding public health appear to have arisen on that front either. In this regard, in any case, measures have been put in place to strengthen and maintain ongoing dialogue with suppliers and retailers in the food supply chain, in an effort to prevent any malfunctions that could have an impact on public health (the protocol issued by the ACN, which provides for reporting and inspections by the NAS, remains in force).

As mentioned yesterday, the Minister for the Interior, Piantedosi, also commented on this issue, stating regarding the cyber-attacks: “Our technicians are on the case. We are confident we will have a clearer picture shortly.” Concerns on the cyber front come on top of those regarding the resurgence of street protests. So much so that the Minister for the Interior himself, following similar meetings in Treviso and Milan, yesterday attended a provincial committee meeting on public order and safety in Turin – one of the ‘hottest’ cities – given that the tensions observed during the weekend’s demonstrations are compounded by a university where student collectives hold more radical views than elsewhere. In recent days, in fact, the Einaudi Campus in Borgo Dora was occupied. And Vice-Chancellor Cristina Prandi has had to order a return to remote learning in some cases (as vice-chancellors such as that of the Orientale University of Naples have done in recent weeks). On this point, Piantedosi said that “there are those who wish to conflate the protests of activists with those of minors”. The minister also commented on the case of the mosque that the Islamic community would like to build in the city: “We will ensure that everything takes place with the utmost transparency, both regarding funding streams and the ancillary regulations that must be complied with when proposing venues for large gatherings,” he said. This represents a more balanced stance compared to the campaign mounted by the Lega: just yesterday, Matteo Salvini (looking towards the Ministry of the Interior) once again lashed out at the Turin project. This comes after the Lega had also clashed with FdI in recent days over an event (again on the subject of Islam) organised in Monfalcone, the home town of the Lega’s fiery campaigner and leading opponent of Islamic radicalism, Anna Maria Cisint.