Last spring , hackers got into Attack.Databreach the system at the ministry , which was then headed by now-Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni , and the attacks Attack.Databreach carried on for more than four months but did not gain access Attack.Databreach to classified information , the paper said . “ The Italian government had already informed ( the paper ) of what it is reporting today , ” the source said in response to the article , noting that security had since been stepped up . “ These were not attacks on the encrypted computer system which carries the most important and sensitive information , but the email system for staff at the foreign ministry and embassies , ” the source said . Gentiloni , who took over as premier in December , was not affected by the attack , the Guardian quoted a government official as saying . He avoided using email when he was serving as foreign minister , the paper said . According to the Guardian , two people with knowledge of the attack said the Russian state was believed to have been behind it . The source close to the ministry could not confirm this . Cyber crime has come into sharp focus since United States intelligence agencies accused Russia of interfering in last year ’ s U.S. election . The Russian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday ’ s report . The Kremlin has described allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. election as “ fabricated ” and “ a witch hunt ” . An Italian government source told Reuters this year that the foreign ministry had been hacked Attack.Databreach in the past and that Rome suspected the perpetrators were Russian , but that it is impossible to say with certainty where such attacks came from . Last month , an Italian brother and sister were arrested on suspicion of hacking Attack.Databreach into the emails of European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and thousands of others . The police chief who conducted the investigation said there was no evidence they had acted on behalf of foreign states