A cyberattack has been carried out against the information systems of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's parliamentary address among the targeted emails. The attack lasted for several days and affected emails of several parliamentarians.
The lower house's IT department has brought the situation under control and is working with the National Cybersecurity Agency to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The Chamber said the case was not an emergency and that similar attempts were observed daily.
“This is not an emergency and happens daily“, said sources from the Chamber of Deputies.The protective measures were taken in coordination with the National Cybersecurity Agency, with which the Italian parliament has a special protocol for responding to such cases. They may also include temporarily limiting certain functions of the information systems.
Parliamentary, not government email, was affected
Meloni's office specified that the attacked address was used in connection with her work as an MP and not for her communication as prime minister. For this reason, government messages were not sent or received through this email.
No details have been released about the manner in which the attack was carried out, nor whether access was gained to the contents of the mailboxes. The perpetrator has not been named.
The case comes against the backdrop of increased attempts at cyberattacks and pressure against Italian, European and international institutions. The Italian parliamentary services continue their work with the National Cybersecurity Agency to limit the risk of new attacks.
Sources: bta.bg, ansa.it