- UK confirms October hack of Foreign Office system and potentially stolen data
- Risk considered low for individuals; investigation continues, attribution unclear
- Chinese state actors suspected but not officially confirmed
The UK government has confirmed speculation that classified government servers were hacked and accessed by malicious actors, as highlighted by former chief adviser Dominic Cummings.
Reports have assessed (as has Cummings) that Chinese state-sponsored threat actors broke into a British government-owned system in October and possibly stole data such as visa information.
Trade Minister Chris Bryant confirmed BBC Breakfast’s findings, but downplayed the significance of the success. According to the BBC, a threat actor broke into a system run by the Foreign Office, on behalf of the Home Office. The break-in was resolved “fairly quickly” and further investigation is currently underway.
Part of modern life
Bryant would not confirm or deny that it was a Chinese threat actor, saying investigators “just don’t know yet” who is responsible.
He downplayed the importance of individuals, insisting; “We believe there is a fairly low risk that individuals will be compromised or affected.”
He also said that “government facilities will always potentially be targeted” and that investigators are “now working on the consequences of what is happening.”
“This is an aspect of modern life that we must address and manage,” he concluded.
For years, Western government agencies and private cybersecurity organizations have warned of coordinated, organized, and large-scale cyberattacks from China. Many threat actors, including Volt Typhoon, Salt Typhoon, APT27 and Mustang Panda, have reportedly targeted critical infrastructure, telecommunications companies, governments, think tanks and journalists, with the aim of disrupting key organizations and stealing valuable information.
During its first term, the Trump administration even banned Huawei from developing the country’s 5G infrastructure, saying the Chinese government could force the company to install backdoors for eavesdropping and cyberespionage.
China has always vehemently denied such accusations and instead claims that the United States is the world’s biggest “cyber bully.”
Via PK Press Club
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