Edward Marchesi On the eve of the G7 leaders' summit in Paris, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani issued an urgent warning: hybrid warfare —combining cyber attacks, disinformation, and diplomatic pressure—must become the priority of the European meeting. The Italian Foreign Minister explained how recent hacking operations, attributed to the pro-Russian group "Noname057," directly affected him and his family, drawing attention to a new phase in Russian strategy.
The malware behind the Tajani threat
The day before the Paris meeting, the "Noname057" group published sensitive ministerial data on the dark web, offering a reward for further information. Antonio Tajani called these attacks "part of a broader strategy" aimed at sowing chaos and weakening European cohesion.
Cyberespionage and digital harassment are now being used as weapons of pressure against policymakers, complicating the traditional international security landscape.
Institutional reaction and coordination with intelligence
The minister underlined that, since January 24st , the Farnesina has reorganized its internal structure, creating a general management and a cyber operations room operating 24 hours a day.
This unit is attached to the National Cybersecurity Agency and works closely with law enforcement, the Postal Police, and intelligence agencies. Tajani specified that, until concrete evidence becomes available, there are no plans to summon the Russian ambassador, but the cyber defense team remains active and ready to respond.
The Farnesina Cyber Room: numbers and concrete results
According to an internal press release, since its activation in early 2026, the Cyber Room has intercepted more than 630.000 malicious events and neutralized approximately 3,5 million malicious emails . These figures demonstrate the real impact of defense operations, which include continuous monitoring, malware signature analysis, and proactively blocking incoming attacks. The center was also visited by German and Czech Foreign Ministers Wadephul and Macinka , who called the model "an example of European good practice."
Operational strategies and response capabilities
The Room's activities include behavioral analysis of suspicious traffic, sharing indicators of compromise with international partners, and activating emergency protocols for institutional websites. During President Zelensky's visit to Rome, the Farnesina (Foreign Ministry) suffered a massive attack on its website; thanks to proactive defense, the attack was repelled without impacting Italian digital services.
Political implications and the challenge to the G7
Tajani reiterated that the threat is comprehensive and not limited to hacking government networks, but extends to critical infrastructure, hospitals, and industrial secrets. In light of these findings, the minister intends to raise the issue at the G7 in Paris, calling for a coordinated response and stronger diplomatic pressure against Moscow. "I hope that tomorrow we can send a strong signal at the G7," he stated, emphasizing that hybrid warfare requires a collective awareness among all allies.
In the internal debate, Defense Minister Giuseppe Crosetto called for digital security to become a national priority, while the opposition was accused of contradiction: demanding security but opposing cyber defense spending. Stefano Bonaccini, on the other hand, launched an appeal against the use of artificial intelligence in election campaigns, calling digital manipulation a risk to democracy.
The Farnesina is strengthening its capacity to respond to cyber threats, but the minister warns that the fight against hybrid warfare has only just begun . The next G7 will therefore be crucial for defining a shared European strategy capable of countering clandestine operations and protecting democratic institutions from future digital attacks.