[UK] China denies involvement in defence ministry cyberattack

The UK government says it cannot rule out state involvement in a cyberattack on the payroll data of armed forces personnel, Yahoo reports.

Some lawmakers have blamed the hack on Beijing, however, China furiously denied being behind it.

The target was a contractor's payroll system used by the defence ministry. It reportedly contained the names, banking details and addresses for tens of thousands of serving and veteran British soldiers.

"We do have indications that this was the suspected work of a malign actor and we cannot rule out state involvement," Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told parliament.

Previously, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that there were indications a "malign actor has compromised the armed forces payment network”. He stopped short of naming China.

Tobias Ellwood  - an MP and former minister - said the data breach had the hallmarks of a Chinese operation.

Speaking to BBC radio, Mr Ellwood said, "Targeting the names of the payroll system and service personnel's bank details - this does point to China because it can be as part of a plan, a strategy to see who might be coerced." 

The MP is an ex-soldier and former chairman of a parliamentary defence committee.

During his update to parliamentarians on the hack, the current defence secretary refused to comment on whether China was responsible.

"This incident is further proof that the UK is facing rising and evolving threats," Mr Shapps said.

He added that up to 272,000 serving personnel, including some recently retired veterans, may have been affected.

According to Mr Shapps, initial investigations had found "no evidence that any data has been removed," and the government had taken "immediate action" to protect those targeted, including taking the system offline.

"I want to apologise to the men and women who are affected by this. It should not have happened," he reportedly told the House of Commons.

Beijing sharply reacted to Mr Ellwood’s claims.

"The remarks by relevant British politicians are utter nonsense," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

"China has always firmly opposed and cracked down on all types of cyberattacks."

In March, the UK and the US reportedly accused China of a global campaign of "malicious" cyberattacks in an unprecedented joint operation.

The UK accused Beijing of targeting the Electoral Commission watchdog and parliamentarians’ email accounts in an attack identified in October 2022.

China called the accusation "malicious slander".

Google subsidiary Mandiant said online attackers with clear links to China were behind a vast cyberespionage campaign targeting government agencies of interest to Beijing last summer.

Washington has previously made frequent accusations of China instigating cyberattacks against US targets.

Source: Yahoo 

(Quotes via original reporting)

The UK government says it cannot rule out state involvement in a cyberattack on the payroll data of armed forces personnel, Yahoo reports.

Some lawmakers have blamed the hack on Beijing, however, China furiously denied being behind it.

The target was a contractor's payroll system used by the defence ministry. It reportedly contained the names, banking details and addresses for tens of thousands of serving and veteran British soldiers.

"We do have indications that this was the suspected work of a malign actor and we cannot rule out state involvement," Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told parliament.

Previously, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that there were indications a "malign actor has compromised the armed forces payment network”. He stopped short of naming China.

Tobias Ellwood  - an MP and former minister - said the data breach had the hallmarks of a Chinese operation.

Speaking to BBC radio, Mr Ellwood said, "Targeting the names of the payroll system and service personnel's bank details - this does point to China because it can be as part of a plan, a strategy to see who might be coerced." 

The MP is an ex-soldier and former chairman of a parliamentary defence committee.

During his update to parliamentarians on the hack, the current defence secretary refused to comment on whether China was responsible.

"This incident is further proof that the UK is facing rising and evolving threats," Mr Shapps said.

He added that up to 272,000 serving personnel, including some recently retired veterans, may have been affected.

According to Mr Shapps, initial investigations had found "no evidence that any data has been removed," and the government had taken "immediate action" to protect those targeted, including taking the system offline.

"I want to apologise to the men and women who are affected by this. It should not have happened," he reportedly told the House of Commons.

Beijing sharply reacted to Mr Ellwood’s claims.

"The remarks by relevant British politicians are utter nonsense," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

"China has always firmly opposed and cracked down on all types of cyberattacks."

In March, the UK and the US reportedly accused China of a global campaign of "malicious" cyberattacks in an unprecedented joint operation.

The UK accused Beijing of targeting the Electoral Commission watchdog and parliamentarians’ email accounts in an attack identified in October 2022.

China called the accusation "malicious slander".

Google subsidiary Mandiant said online attackers with clear links to China were behind a vast cyberespionage campaign targeting government agencies of interest to Beijing last summer.

Washington has previously made frequent accusations of China instigating cyberattacks against US targets.

Source: Yahoo 

(Quotes via original reporting)