Austria's foreign ministry subjected to 'serious cyber attack'

It has warned another country could be responsible for the attack

Werner Kogler (R), leader of the Austrian Green party, gestures to delegates during their party's congress on January 4, 2020 in Salzburg. The delegates of the Greens voted on Austria's first coalition between conservatives (OeVP) and Greens. The two disparate parties have agreed to govern in what Greens leader Werner Kogler called a "gamble" after key election gains in September 2019. Their alliance means People's Party (OeVP) leader Sebastian Kurz, 33, returns as chancellor after his previous coalition with the far-right broke apart earlier this year owing to a corruption scandal. It marks the first time the Greens enter government on a national level though the OeVP holds on to controversial anti-immigration measures that have deeply divided Austrians. - Austria OUT
/ AFP / APA / BARBARA GINDL

Werner Kogler (R), leader of the Austrian Green party, gestures to delegates during their party's congress in Salzburg as they enter government for the first time, however later the country was targeted in a cyber attack. AFP / BARBARA GINDL

Nicky Harley

Jan 05, 2020

Austria's foreign ministry has been targeted in "serious cyber attack", it said late Saturday.

It has warning another country could be responsible.

"Due to the gravity and nature of the attack, it cannot be excluded that it is a targeted attack by a state actor," it said in a statement with the interior ministry, adding that the attack was ongoing.

"In the past, other European countries have been the target of similar attacks," it continued.

Immediate measures had been taken and a "coordination committee" set up, it said, without elaborating.

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The attack came as Austria's Greens on Saturday gave the go-ahead to a coalition with the country's conservatives at a party congress in Salzburg, removing the last obstacle to the unprecedented alliance.

The German government's IT network in 2018 was hit by a cyberattack.

Last year the EU adopted powers to punish those outside the bloc who launch cyberattacks that cripple hospitals and banks, sway elections and steal company secrets or funds.