from the will-have-to-call-and-talk-or-even-send-it-through-the-post dept.
The British parliament was hit by a cyber attack Friday night that left members and staffers unable to access emails as hackers attempted to exploit weak passwords and gain access to accounts.
Multiple news agencies reported Saturday that the U.K. parliament was hit by a “sustained and determined” effort by hackers, a report which was confirmed on Twitter by multiple members of parliament.
“Sorry no parliamentary email access today - we’re under cyber attack from Kim Jong Un, Putin or a kid in his mom’s basement or something...” Henry Smith, a Conservative member, tweeted.
The New York Times notes:
Last week, there were reports in The Times of London that the passwords of British cabinet ministers, ambassadors and senior police officers were being sold online after Russian hacking groups gained access.
According to The Times, the stolen data revealed the private login details of 1,000 British members of Parliament and parliamentary staff, 7,000 police employees and more than 1,000 Foreign Office officials.
[...] In a statement, the spokeswoman [for the National Cyber Security Center] said that “the Houses of Parliament have discovered unauthorized attempts to access parliamentary user accounts. We are continuing to investigate this incident and take further measures to secure the computer network, liaising with the National Cyber Security Center.”
To protect member and staff accounts and “secure our network,” the statement added, “we have temporarily restricted remote access to the network. As a result, some members of Parliament and staff cannot access their email accounts outside of Westminster.”
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 25 2017, @02:20AM
Middle aged script kiddie living in his mum's flat.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday June 25 2017, @04:26AM (7 children)
This phrasing sounds a little funny coming from a British politician (or any politician, for that matter), but I can't put my finger on exactly what's unusual about it. Any suggestions?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Common Joe on Sunday June 25 2017, @05:33AM (4 children)
Humor. Most politicians don't utilize humor in public in fear of offending someone who supports them.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Sunday June 25 2017, @03:55PM (3 children)
It was an easy cheap shot at Trump. I mean, he deserves it, but mocking a psychopath won't get the expected reaction. It's water off a duck's back.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 25 2017, @05:37PM
When choosing between two psychopaths it's hard to avoid choosing one.
(Score: 2) by Wootery on Monday June 26 2017, @09:00AM (1 child)
What am I missing here? How does this have any connection to Trump?
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday June 26 2017, @01:16PM
Seems to be a play on this [youtube.com]
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 4, Interesting) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Sunday June 25 2017, @06:28AM (1 child)
The incorrect spelling of "mum's" maybe?
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 25 2017, @08:03AM
Emo Amy Basement Fuck - Chav Council Estate Girls - MOTHERLESS.COM [motherless.com] [NSFW]
(Score: 2) by Snospar on Sunday June 25 2017, @10:06AM (1 child)
Be nice to know how many of these accounts were actual MPs with stoopid passwords. There are only 650 British Members of Parliament so it might be the whole lot of them in those 1,000 accounts.
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(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday June 25 2017, @05:40PM
Actually Sky News, now stated that it's about weak passwords. It feels like a gigantic *facepalm*
We'll see what norty letters that show up ;)