Blackmail fears after MPs and peers targeted by cyber attack
2 min read
Fears have been raised that MPs and peers could be left open to blackmail after parliament fell victim to a “sustained and determined” cyber attack.
More than 10,000 staff at Westminster were told to change their passwords after hackers attempted to access their emails on Friday night.
Parliamentary authorities confirmed the attack had been designed to "identify weak passwords".
Just last month some 48 NHS trusts were severely disrupted after falling victim to a so-called 'ransomware' attack.
A security source told the Sunday Times the latest attack was a "brute force" operation and "appears to have been state-sponsored".
Parliamentary digital director Rob Greig told MPs "unusual activity and evidence of an attempted cyber-attack on our computer network" had been detected.
“Hackers were carrying out a sustained and determined attack on all parliamentary user accounts in attempt to identify weak passwords," he said.
"These attempts specifically were trying to gain access to users emails.”
Tory MP for North West Leicestershire Andrew Bridgen told the paper: “An attack like this could leave an MP or one of their constituents open to blackmail.”
Some MPs and peers have said they are still unable to access their email accounts from outside parliament, according to various reports.
A parliamentary spokesperson said: "We have discovered unauthorised attempts to access accounts of parliamentary networks users...
"Parliament has robust measures in place to protect all of our accounts and systems, and we are taking the necessary steps to protect and secure our network.
"As a precaution we have temporarily restricted remote access to the network."
'NOT AT ALL SURPRISING'
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said: "We know that our public services are attacked so it is not at all surprising that there should be an attempt to hack into parliamentary emails.
"And it's a warning to everybody, whether they are in Parliament or elsewhere, that they need to do everything possible to maintain their own cyber security."
Only last week the Times reported that passwords belonging to Cabinet ministers and other senior public figures were being traded by Russian hackers online.
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