Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

Brit intel fingers Iran for brute-force attacks on UK.gov email accounts

Russia, you're off the hook

Iran has been blamed for the brute-force attack on UK Parliament earlier this year.

An unpublished assessment by British intelligence obtained by The Times fingers Iran for the high-profile hack. The revelation comes as the US president has refused to continue signing off the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, to which the UK is a party.

An estimated 90 email accounts were compromised on the Parliamentary network last May, as previously reported. Hackers attempted to gain access to accounts protected only by weak passwords. Two-factor authentication technology, widely used across the enterprise world for years, was not deployed at the time.

The Parliamentary digital services team has reportedly since made changes to lock out hackers. A spokesman in the House of lord press office told The Register that he wasn't able to comment on security issues. The House of Commons press team couldn't be reached on Monday afternoon.

Initial suspicion fell on Russia, but this theory has since been discounted. The evidence so far collected in the ongoing investigation includes "digital footprints" associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. An investigation by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the National Crime Agency continues, The Times reports.

Hackers tried to break into Scottish Parliament email accounts in August, weeks after similar campaigns against Westminster. First indications were that this assault was unsuccessful. El Reg has asked whether the attacks are believed to be linked but we're yet to hear back from our sources. We'll update this story as and when we hear more. ®

Similar topics

Similar topics

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like