Parliament cyber attack: Up to 90 email accounts hacked amid blackmail fears

Up to 90 parliamentary email accounts were compromised during the cyber attack on Westminster, officials have said.

Saturday’s incident gave rise to blackmail fears after hackers tried to break into the accounts of MPs, peers and their staff by searching for weak passwords.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and National Crime Agency are probing the incident, which came after reports hackers were selling Cabinet ministers and MPs’ passwords online.

Less than 1 per cent of the system's 9,000 users are believed to have been directly impacted by the "determined and sustained" attack.

Investigations are under way to see whether any data has been lost.

Officials said both Houses of Parliament will meet on Monday as planned after staff worked to ensure the business of Parliament could continue in the wake of the hacking.

A parliamentary spokesman said: "Parliament's first priority has been to protect the parliamentary network and systems from the sustained and determined cyber attack to ensure that the business of the Houses can continue.

"This has been achieved and both Houses will meet as planned tomorrow.

"Investigations are ongoing, but it has become clear that significantly fewer than 1 per cent of the 9,000 accounts on the parliamentary network have been compromised as a result of the use of weak passwords that did not conform to guidance issued by the Parliamentary Digital Service.

Users of the Westminster system were unable to access their accounts remotely due to defensive measures put in place by parliamentary authorities to deal with the hack.