Updated 6.22pm
THE EMAIL SYSTEMS of the UK Houses of Parliament are under cyber attack.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the House of Commons said that “unauthorised attempts to access parliamentary user accounts” had been discovered.
“We are continuing to investigate this incident and take further measures to secure the computer network, liaising with the National Cyber Security Centre,” they said.
We have systems in place to protect member and staff accounts and are taking the necessary steps to protect our systems.
Lib Dem peer Chris Rennard said that the cyber security attack had meant MPs were unable to remotely access their emails.
The National Crime Agency said it was “aware of a possible cyber incident affecting parliament”.
International Trade Minister Liam Fox told ITV News said it was a “warning to everyone we need more security and better passwords”.
Fox also told the BBC: “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”.
Last month, the UK’s National Health Service was among a number of global targets in an international cyber attack.
The state-run NHS declared a “major incident” after the cyber attacks, which prompted some hospitals to divert ambulances and scrap operations.
With reporting from AFP
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