British intelligence officials believe that a cyberattack that breached the email accounts of 90 MPs, including Prime Minister Theresa May, was “state sponsored” by Iran.
i24News reports:
British intelligence officials believe that Iran orchestrated a June cyberattack that targeted parliament and breached the email accounts of some 90 government officials, including Prime Minister Theresa May, UK media outlets reported Saturday.
An unpublished assessment by British intelligence first reported on by The Times, and later verified by The Guardian, says that there is mounting evidence implicating Iran in the attack.
A spokesperson for the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre declined to comment on the report, telling The Guardian that “it would be inappropriate to comment further while inquiries are ongoing.”
May’s office also declined requests for comment on the reports.
Investigators had initially blamed Russia or North Korea for the June 23 hack, which saw the account passwords of dozens of MPs and senior ministers, including May, sold online.
At the time, a security source told The Guardian that the hack was “a brute force attack.” “It appears to have been state-sponsored,” the source added, noting that “the nature of cyber-attacks means it is notoriously difficult to attribute an incident to a specific actor.”
The news came just days after Theresa May pledged to remain in Iran Deal. In a phone call to Israel’s Prime Minister, Mrs May said, “The Prime Minister said the UK remains firmly committed to the deal and that we believe it is vitally important for regional security.”
Mrs May told Mr Netanyahu it was “important that the deal is carefully monitored and properly enforced, and that both sides deliver on their commitments”.
