Hacker attack, Palazzo Chigi: “National security has not been affected. Criminal action not by a hostile state”

“No institution or primary company operating in critical sectors for national security has been affected” by the hacker attack that took place yesterday on a global scale. So Palazzo Chigi in a note released after the meeting held this morning at Palazzo Chigi, coordinated by the Undersecretary with the delegation for Cybersecurity Alfredo Mantovanowith the director of ACN, Roberto Baldoniand the director of the DIS-Department of information and security, Elisabetta Belloni.

“During the first reconnaissance activities carried out by ACN-Agenzia per la Cybersecurity Nazionale, jointly with the Postal Police, no evidence emerged that leads to aggression by a state entity or similar to a hostile state; instead, the action is probable of cybercriminals, demanding the payment of a ‘ransom’,” the note continues.

“Those who have not protected themselves pay the effects”

Since February 2021 “the cyber attack “had been identified by ACN as hypothetically possible” and “the Agency had alerted all sensitive subjects to adopt the necessary protective measures. Some have duly taken the warning into consideration, others have not and unfortunately today they are paying the consequences”. Thus Palazzo Chigi, who makes an analogy: “It is as if in February 2021 a particularly aggressive virus had started circulating, the urged frail people to take appropriate prevention, and after some time the damage to health emerged” for those who did not.

“Therefore, the recommendation is renewed that all the entities involved should intensify possible prevention measures, immediately establishing relations with ACN, if they have not already done so – continues the note -. The Government, following up on the provisions of the Legislative Decree No. 82/2021, will promptly adopt a DPCM to link the fundamental prevention work of the Regions with ACN. At the same time, the same Agency will set up a periodic discussion table with all the public and private structures that provide critical services for the nation, starting with by Ministries and by credit and insurance institutions”.