British newspaper The Guardian
reported Friday that sources close to the case suspect that
Russia was behind hacking targeting the Italian foreign ministry
for several months last year.
On its website, the daily said the attack lasted at least
four months before being detected.
It said the hack did not infiltrate an encrypted system used
for classified communications.
Premier Paolo Gentiloni was head of the foreign ministry at
the time but The Guardian said he was not affected by the hack.
The newspaper said an Italian official had told it that
Gentiloni avoided using email while he was foreign minister.
The Italian official confirmed that the attack took place in
spring 2016, but did not confirm that Moscow was behind it, the
daily said.
It added that two other people with knowledge of the attack
said the Russian state was suspected of being behind the hack
and reports that the attack is being investigated by Rome
prosecutors.
A source close to the Italian foreign ministry said Friday
that the 2016 hacking attack that The Guardian reported on was
"an affair that was already known about".
The source added: "following the first attack, there was an
immediate reinforcement intervention. It is good to reiterate
that they were not attacks on the encrypted information system
through which the most important and sensitive information
travels, but the system to manage the emails of foreign minister
and embassy personnel".
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said
Friday that there was no evidence to back the report.
"There are no facts that prove this assertion," Zakharova told
ANSA via WhatsApp when asked about the report.
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