Austria’s Foreign Ministry Confirms ‘Serious Cyber-Attack’

It’s pretty well known that there are various organizations (and even countries) that are dedicated to hacking sensitive information from various governments around the work. It seems, however, that Austria may be the latest high-profile victim.

In a report via the BBC, Austria’s foreign ministry has confirmed that it has been the focus of a ‘Serious Cyber-Attack‘. In addition, they have also said that the hack is still on-going and they believe that a ‘state’ may be behind it.

Austrian Foreign Ministry Confirms ‘Serious Cyber-Attack’

In the report, the hacking attempt began late on Saturday night and is still continuing now. While the security breach was very quickly detected, the foreign ministry is keen to highlight that they are currently not sure as to how successful it was.

“Despite all intensive security measures, there is never 100% protection against cyber-attacks.”

They have, however, gone as far as to say that they believe that the attempt is likely coming directly from a foreign government. Either directly or state-backed.

Who Is Behind the Hack?

Well, as often is the case, the most notable candidate would be either Russia or China. Why? Well, both governments are known to essentially ‘sub-contract’ hacking companies to specifically target other governments and corporate organizations.

It may, however, possibly be domestic. In case you’re not aware, Austria’s Green party recently formed a coalition with the Conservative party. As such, many suspect that there are more than a few people disgruntled by this.

At the moment, however, this is all entirely speculation. We can likely expect further information to emerge in the coming weeks as they find out, in more detail, exactly what happened.

Hopefully, the hacking attempt wasn’t successful. If it was, however, then it’s certainly more than a little concerning.

What do you think? Do attacks like this concern you? – Let us know in the comments!