Italy’s Foreign Ministry said its website was targeted by a cyberattack on October 8, 2026, and that security systems mitigated it without disrupting services. The ministry said it was monitoring the situation with national authorities and checking diplomatic and consular websites for similar attempts. It also said Italy would work with Romania and other EU members on proposals to designate actors responsible for cyberattacks; that is a planned initiative, not an EU measure already adopted.
What happened to the Farnesina website?
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), commonly known as the Farnesina, said the attack began on the morning of October 8. In its official statement, the ministry said the incident had been “effectively mitigated by the security systems” and had caused no disruption to services.
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The ministry said it was monitoring the situation in coordination with the National Strategic Hub and relevant authorities. It was also checking the websites of Italian diplomatic and consular missions for similar attempts. ANSA’s contemporaneous report likewise described the ministry’s account of mitigation and monitoring.
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Was the Italian foreign ministry website disrupted?
No service disruption was reported by the ministry. Its statement says the security systems mitigated the attack without affecting services. It does not describe any further impact, so claims of a data breach, stolen information, or compromise of other systems are not established by the statement.
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Who was behind the attack?
Euronews reported that the pro-Russian hacker group NoName targeted the ministry’s website. The ministry’s own statement did not name an attacker, and the material it released did not provide technical evidence tying the incident to a particular group. The identification should therefore be treated as Euronews’ reporting, not as an official Italian attribution or an independently confirmed finding.
What EU action is Italy seeking?
Italy said it would work with Romania and other EU member states to put forward proposals at forthcoming European meetings to designate actors responsible for cyberattacks, including attacks on Italian institutions. The ministry’s announcement describes an intention to propose action. It does not say that the EU has adopted a measure, agreed to a designation, or identified a responsible actor.
What Italy has said about its cyber defenses
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in the October 8 statement that cybersecurity was a key element of a ministry reform approved the previous year, and that Italy had strengthened prevention, monitoring, and response capabilities in recent months.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →In a separate February 2026 announcement about its dedicated CSIRT operations room, the ministry said the room had handled more than 150,000 attacks from January 1, 2026, through the date of that announcement. It also reported 30 distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against ministry websites and web services during that period. Those are figures reported by the ministry, not independently audited counts in the sources cited here.
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What remains unknown
The October statement does not specify the attack method, technical indicators, or how long the incident lasted beyond saying it began that morning. It reports no service disruption but does not provide evidence about other possible effects. The sources cited here also do not establish whether Italy’s proposed EU action was later adopted or resulted in designations.
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