Hackers launched a cyber attack on UK’s House of Parliament on 23rd of last month causing data breach to email accounts including a select committee’s mailbox. Investigators who were pressed into service by the law enforcement discovered that 0.5 percent of 9000 accounts were compromised during the sustained and determined attempt which leaked email systems of some of the high dignitaries of the Parliament.
According to the sources reporting to Cybersecurity Insiders, hackers targeted the email accounts of both the Commons and Lords. Early this month a representative from the Houses of Parliament notified the issue to the Information Commissioner’s Office and submitted the details of the data breach.
The House of Commons select committee took the initiative of notifying 77 of its committee people about the attack late last week. It also informed them that personal information could be at risk.
The closer inquiry made by the cyber security team of the Parliament found that the hackers were carrying out a sustained and determined attack on parliamentary user accounts in an effort to identify weak passwords.
Three of the six Member of Parliament had their accounts compromised because their mailboxes were linked to their staff whose passwords were compromised.
As per a news post published in ‘Independent’, a total of 39 accounts operated by 26 people including 6 MPs, a member of House of Lords, administrative staff, and a sub contractor were targeted by hackers.
According to a reported submitted to GCHQ by the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Center, the hacking attempt was made by brute force tactics which is probably the work of some state sponsored actors or criminal gangs operating for some military and defense forces of nations interested in spying and stealing valuable information of some developed nations.
More details are awaited!
