Nation state likely not behind UK Parliament email hack: report

The bulk hacking of as many as 90 members of the British House Of Commons was reportedly conducted by either hobbyist or private sector hackers instead of a nation state, as some previously suggested. 

Sources familiar with the investigation told Reuters that they believe hackers only successfully breached accounts with easily guessed passwords, suggesting the attack was below the sophistication of a state attack. 

{mosads}Hackers often use automated programs to guess passwords, known as “brute force” attacks.  

The Guardian reported that members of Parliament it spoke to after the attack in late June reflexively feared it had come from Russia or North Korea, two countries believed to have targeted the United Kingdom in the past.