Following warnings from MI5 that those involved in the UK election process could be targeted by China and Russia in attacks to “manipulate or compromise”, a new study has found that parliamentary email passwords of MPs could be up for grabs are on the dark web.
Research carried out by Proton, makers of one of the best password managers, showed that more than 200 passwords used by MPs to access parliamentary accounts had been found on the dark web, with one MP having 10 passwords exposed.
The password leak puts many highly sensitive parliamentary services at risk, with Proton notifying affected MPs.
Urgent warning
Many people underestimate their vulnerability, but the reality is that everyone is a potential target,” said Eammonn Maguire, head of account security at Proton.
“Vigilance is essential for anyone in the public eye to ensure both personal and national security, and we call on the new government after the general election to take cyber security seriously, and for all MPs to adopt better account security practices.”
As Britain heads to the polls on July 4 this year, London Mayor Sadiq Knah, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labor leader Keir Starmer have all had their likenesses manipulated in deepfakes, some of which are more clearly fake than others, raising the potential for political opponents or foreign agents to mislead the public and potentially influence the outcome of the election.
A parliamentary spokesperson said this CityAM“Parliament takes cyber security very seriously. We have robust measures in place, including providing advice to users to make them aware of the risks and how to manage their digital security – working closely with our partners at the National Cyber Security Centre.”