The Italian government has ruled out on Monday that any institution or company linked to «critical sectors» for national security was affected by the cyber-attack reported on Sunday by the National Cybersecurity Agency (ANC) and which caused problems in the telecommunications network.
The Executive of Giorgia Meloni has convened authorities and experts to make a first assessment of the incident, which would have started on February 3. The first investigations rule out in principle the intervention of foreign authorities and, instead, are leaning towards hackers seeking to demand a ransom.
The ACN had already warned in February 2021 of this type of attack and, according to a government statement, it is those who did not heed the warning and did not take action who «are paying the consequences». The authorities are now working to detect possible vulnerable systems to avoid further problems for the general population.
«To make an analogy with the health field, it is as if in February 2021 a particularly aggressive virus had begun to circulate, the health authority had asked fragile people to undertake timely prevention and, after some time, we see the damage to the health of those who have not taken into account that prevention,» reads the note from Meloni’s office.
According to ACN, the cyber-attack that complicated telecommunications in Italy on Sunday had a global reach, with actions in neighboring countries such as France but also in North America, for example in the United States.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
