The Austrian Ministry of the Interior is under a cyber attack
The Austrian Ministry of the Interior was subjected to a major cyber attack targeting around 100 email inboxes in the Outlook system. Officials confirmed that the attack forced servers to shut down on Saturday, but they emphasized that the situation is now under control. The ministry clarified that the work of the police and state security agencies was not affected, as they operate on independent systems.
The attack was described as "targeted and professional." IT experts detected unusual activity several weeks ago, prompting the ministry to cut all external communications as a precautionary measure. This allowed experts to secure networks and completely clean the systems. Authorities also confirmed that citizens' personal data was not affected by the attack.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner and State Minister Jörg Leichtfried provided a briefing to journalists, confirming that the core tasks of the police have not been disrupted. Karner refused to disclose the potential party behind the attack but indicated the possibility of involvement from 'governmental or quasi-governmental entities.' He confirmed that investigations are ongoing and no additional details will be announced until they are complete.
For his part, Leichtfried emphasized that similar attacks have occurred in several countries recently, warning that international cooperation has become essential to confront such threats. He confirmed that police databases were not compromised, and criminal investigations continued normally. He also clarified that the State Security and Intelligence Directorate was not targeted in the attack.
The government is now calling for strengthening global partnerships between security agencies to protect institutions from future attacks. While the immediate threat has been contained, the incident highlights the increasing risks posed by professional cybercriminals and state-sponsored actors.