Hackers launch ‘brute-force’ cyber attack on IT accounts at Holyrood
● Staff told to stay vigilant after strike similar to one at Westminster
Staff at the Scottish Parliament have been told to remain vigilant after a “bruteforce” cyber attack targeted Holyrood IT accounts.
A memo sent to those working in the parliament yesterday said the attack appeared to be similar to one which affected Westminster in June.
Paul Grice, the Scottish Parliament’s chief executive, wrote to staff urging them to change passwords.
He said: “The parliament’s monitoring systems have identified that we are currently the subject of a brute-force cyber attack from external sources.
“This attack appears to be targeting parliamentary IT accounts in a similar way to that which affected the Westminster parliament in June. Symptoms of the attack include account lockouts or failed log-ins.”
He added: “The parliament’s robust cyber security measures identified this attack at an early stage and the additional security measures which we have in readiness for such situations have already been invoked. Our IT systems remain fully operational.”
A brute-force attack involves an attempt to guess a number of user passwords to access secure data.
Gerry Grant, an ethical hacking consultant at the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, said: “The employees and staff of the parliament are probably seen as high-value targets due to the possible access that they have to sensitive information. It may be the case that the attackers are out to prove a point.
“An attack such as this one is not particularly subtle and it is good to see that the parliament have identified that there is unusual activity relating to logging in to accounts. This should be done as standard. Organisations need to train staff in basic cyber security in the same way that they train staff on health and safety.”
Last month, The Scotsman revealed almost 60 per cent of Scottish councils and more than half of Scotland’s health boards have been targeted by cyber criminals since 2014.
Nine universities and numerous government bodies have also been hit in the last three years.