Blackmail bomb threat made against French railway network

The BBC has reported that French rail authorities have been receiving letters over the past few weeks threatening to explode devices at ten places on the country's rail network.

The blackmail group calls itself AZF and is reportedly demanding a payment of $5m to reveal details of where the bombs have been planted. The BBC quotes the French interior ministry as stating that ‘one letter led police to a bomb found under tracks in central France last month’.

AZF was the name of a TotalFinaElf plant in southern France that was severely damaged in an explosion in 2001, killing 30. The BBC reports that investigators believe that this explosion was accidental. However suspicions were voiced after the explosion that it had been preceded by a blackmail attempt. The fact that the current blackmailers have taken the AZF title may add strength to these allegations.

The current incident shows how vulnerable critical infrastructure providers and other large businesses are to sophisticated blackmail attempts, which clearly could have business continuity and reputational impacts.

•Date: 3rd March 2004 •Region: W.Europe •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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