Russia suspected over hacking attack on Italian foreign ministry

Exclusive: Italian government official says no classified emails were compromised in attack believed to have lasted more than four months last year

Russia is suspected by Italian officials of being behind a sustained hacking attack against the Italian foreign ministry last year that compromised email communications and lasted for many months before it was detected, according to people familiar with the matter.

An Italian government official confirmed that the attack took place last spring and lasted for more than four months but did not infiltrate an encrypted system used for classified communications.