'Sustained' Attack Disrupts U.K. Parliament Email System

Access to the U.K. Parliament’s email systems was restricted Friday because of a “sustained” cyberattack, according to reports.

As a security measure, Parliament's IT teams disabled remote access to accounts after they detected unauthorized access, the BBC reported. The attackers attempted to find members and staffers using weak passwords. Fewer than 90 accounts were compromised (and there are 650 MPs), The Guardian reported Sunday.

The attack is being investigated by the National Cyber Security Centre, part of the British intelligence organization GCHQ.

“The NCSC is aware of an incident and is working around the clock with the UK Parliamentary digital security team to understand what has happened and advise on the necessary mitigating actions,” said an agency statement.