The UK Parliament’s computer system has been hit by a cyberattack, a spokesperson for the Houses of Parliament said in a statement.
“We have discovered unauthorised attempts to access accounts of parliamentary networks users and are investigating this ongoing incident, working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre,” the spokesperson said Saturday.
“Parliament has robust measures in place to protect all of our accounts and systems, and we are taking the necessary steps to protect and secure our network.”
As a precaution, Parliament temporarily restricted remote access to its network, the spokesperson said. Indeed, some members of Parliament said on social media that they were having trouble accessing their emails remotely.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) “is aware of incident and working around the clock with the UK Parliamentary digital security team to understand what has happened and advise on the necessary mitigating actions,” a spokesman said.
Parliament has shut down remote access to email, describing it as a “deliberate decision as part of their mitigation measures,” the NCSC spokesman said.
The attack comes just more than a month after a massive ransomware attack crippled 200,000 computers across 150 countries. The UK’s National Health Service was among the victims and was forced to cancel surgeries and divert ambulances.