Austrian Foreign Ministry under 'serious cyberattack'

BERLIN (AP) — Austria's Foreign Ministry says its IT systems are the target of a “serious cyberattack” and authorities have taken counter measures.

The ministry said Sunday that “due to the severity of nature of the attack it cannot be ruled out that this is a targeted attack by a state actor.”

In a statement, the ministry noted that some other European countries have been hit by “similar attacks” in the past, without elaborating.

It said the attack was swiftly discovered and “counter measures were immediately put in place.”

Austrian media reported that the attack began Saturday.

The ministry said services such as its information system for travelers remain available. The official website of the ministry was accessible Sunday.