Attackers target email accounts in Italy’s Parliament

Who is affected

According to Security Affairs↗ (opens in a new tab), the attack targeted email accounts at Italy’s Chamber of Deputies. Three parliamentary accounts were affected. These included accounts assigned to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, former Justice undersecretary Andrea Delmastro and lawmaker Paolo Formentini. The Italian government clarified that the account assigned to Meloni was not the one she uses for official government business.

The response

The Chamber confirmed its IT systems had been targeted and said it activated security measures with Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN). Officials described the incident as having no emergency implications and stated that similar attacks occur daily. They also said that cyber pressure on Italian, European and international institutions had increased in recent days. However, public statements have not provided technical details about what level of access attackers gained or whether any information was taken.

What was taken

At this stage, it is not clear whether any data was stolen or exposed. The Chamber has not said if messages were read, credentials were accessed or other information was compromised. The distinction between an attempted attack and a confirmed compromise remains unresolved.

How the attack worked

No technical details have been released about how the attackers gained access to the email accounts or what methods were used. The lack of information means it is not possible to say whether the attack involved phishing, malware or another technique.

What experts say

Security Affairs notes that even accounts not used for government business can have intelligence value. Access to a parliamentary email account could reveal professional relationships, schedules or internal discussions. Compromised accounts could also be used to launch further attacks, such as targeted phishing or impersonation. The incident is seen in the context of increased cyber pressure on public institutions and the broader risks of hybrid warfare, where cyber operations are combined with other tactics to influence or destabilise targets.

Has this happened before?

The article mentions that on 8 October, Italy’s Foreign Ministry was targeted by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Media reports linked that incident to pro-Russian actors. However, there is no public evidence connecting the DDoS attack to the Chamber’s email incident, and the two attacks used different methods.