Swiss ministry says it was victim of cyber attack

updated 2:23 p.m. ET Oct. 26, 2009

BERN, Switzerland - The Swiss Foreign Ministry says it was the victim of a "professional" cyber attack aimed at obtaining information from its computer network.

Spokesman Georg Farago says the ministry cut the connection between its network and the Internet after the attack was discovered on Thursday.

He says specialists are trying to determine the source of the attack and whether any information was stolen.

Farago said Monday it appeared the Foreign Ministry was specifically targeted.

Switzerland frequently plays host to international peace talks and other high-level negotiations.

Earlier this month, Iran held talks in Geneva about its nuclear program with the United States, Britain, Russia, France, Germany and China.

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