‘Russia launched a 4month long hack attack on Italian foreign ministry’

LONDON: Russia is suspected by Italian officials of being behind a sustained hacking attack against the Italian foreign ministry last year that compromised email communications and lasted for many months before it was detected, according to people familiar with the matter.

An Italian government official confirmed that the attack hit the foreign ministry last spring and lasted for more than four months but did not infiltrate an encrypted system used for classified communications.

Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian prime minister who was serving as foreign minister at the time, was not affected by the hack, according to the official, who said Gentiloni avoided using email while he was foreign minister.

The foreign ministry’s “field offices”, including foreign embassies and staff members who report back to Rome about meetings with foreign officials, were affected by the malware attack. Two people with knowledge of the attack said the Russian state was believed to have been behind it. The hacking is now the subject of an inquiry by the chief prosecutor in Rome.

“There were no attacks on the encrypted level. So the information – delicate, sensitive information – that is usually shared in this net, which is restricted by code, has never been attacked or part of this attack,” the government official said.

The revelation comes amid heightened concerns that Russia has targeted Nato members as part of a cyber campaign that seeks to weaken the governments of those countries and disrupt critical infrastructure.