A UK Member of Parliament’s website was temporarily taken offline following a suspected cyberattack that redirected users to online gambling websites in Asia, highlighting ongoing risks around illicit promotion channels and cross-border digital threats.
Sir David Davis, Conservative MP for Goole and Pocklington, told Parliament that his website had been compromised in what he described as a “direct interference” with his duties. The incident began last Thursday, when malicious code was inserted into the site, redirecting users to Southeast Asian gambling websites.
The site was taken offline shortly after the breach was detected, but upon restoration it was subjected to a large-scale distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. Davis said the attack involved approximately 142 million requests and nearly 800 GB of data traffic within a 24-hour period. A DDoS attack involves overwhelming a website or server with traffic from multiple sources in order to disrupt its normal operation.
Davis told lawmakers that much of the malicious traffic appeared to be “traceable to China,” although his office also identified activity originating from other jurisdictions. The MP said his team is working with hosting providers to strengthen defenses and prevent further incidents. “Malicious links were inserted, redirecting users to Southeast Asian gambling websites. We took it down immediately. It was restored but then came under sustained DDoS attack. This is not a minor nuisance, it’s a direct interference with a Member of Parliament carrying out his duties,” Davis said in Parliament.
At the time of writing, the website displayed an error message and was still unavailable. The incident underscores a persistent issue for the gambling sector, where compromised legitimate websites are used as conduits to drive traffic toward unregulated operators. By hijacking trusted domains, bad actors can effectively bypass advertising restrictions and evade enforcement, particularly when infrastructure and traffic sources span multiple jurisdictions.
Deputy Speaker Nus Ghani said it would not be appropriate to discuss specific protective measures in detail but advised MPs to seek support from parliamentary security services. She directed members to the Parliamentary Security Department for personal account concerns and the Parliamentary Digital Service for official systems.
