The UK's GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) has revealed that hackers linked to the terrorist group ISIS managed to intercept sensitive emails exchanged by British cabinet ministers, according to a report in the Mirror.
According to sources within GCHQ, the system was not fully breached, but hackers were able to access and read emails exchanged.
Officials confirmed only Theresa May, the Home Secretary, as a certain victim, but it appears that other senior ministers from David Cameron's government were also being monitored by the terrorists.
GCHQ said the leaked information related to events attended by government officials and members of the royal family.
Earlier this week, UK forces killed a British jihadist in Syria after the country's intelligence services discovered he was trying to kill the Queen. It is said that the two events are linked, and the jihadists were able to plan their attacks using information gained from the hack.
According to the Daily Mail, this was the first time an ISIS cyberattack had been carried out on British officials. All previous attacks had usually targeted the US and French governments.
In late August, US forces killed Junaid Hussain, who was the leader of the Islamic State's Hacking Division, in a drone strike.
However, while the Islamic State does not appear to have the same military capabilities as Western countries, their online presence is quite strong.
