Federal MP's office allegedly email-bombed

A woman from Western Sydney is alleged by police to have sent 32,397 emails to the office of an unnamed federal MP over a 24-hour period, overloading the network.

The alleged email bombing campaign “impaired workers from operating IT systems” and made it impossible for constituents to email the sitting member, police said in a statement.

Email bombing is a type of denial-of-service attack involving the sending of a large volume of emails in a short time.

The 34-year-old woman, from Werrington, near Penrith, is alleged to have sent the large volume of emails from “multiple domains … which resulted in continued disruption and harassment.”

She has so far been charged with one count of committing unauthorised impairment of electronic communication, but could face further charges, police said.

The woman was granted bail with “strict conditions” and will reappear on April 11.

Police said investigations are continuing.