A massive Chinese cyberattack has been targeted at the UK, revealing details of armed forces personnel, Sky News reports.
MPs will be told today about a massive Ministry of Defence data leak targeting members of the armed forces. The government is not naming the country involved, but Sky News understands it is China.
The Chinese state has been accused of two or three attempts to hack MoD staff, including personnel. The cyberattack targeted the payroll system of active military personnel and some veterans. Names and bank details were mostly exposed. All salaries will be paid this month.
China’s foreign ministry said it “firmly opposes and fights all forms of cyberattacks” and “rejects the use of this issue politically to smear other countries”.
Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP and former soldier, told Sky News that China “was probably looking at the financially vulnerable with a view that they may be coerced in exchange for cash”.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps will make a statement to Congress today, and the BBC reports that he will outline a “multi-point plan” that includes measures to protect affected servicemen and women. The Ministry of Defence hopes servicemen will not have to worry about their safety. They will be given counselling and support.
The Ministry of Defence has been working on a fast track for the past 72 hours to understand the scale of the hacking after it was discovered in recent days. So far, the investigation has not revealed that any data has been stolen. This could raise questions about whether other countries with a fraught relationship with China would want to share sensitive intelligence information with the UK.
It comes after the government accused Chinese “state-linked actors” of two “malicious” cyberattack campaigns in the UK between 2021 and 2022.
Government minister Mel Stride told Sky News on Tuesday morning China is “an epoch-defining challenge” and “our eyes are wide open” – quoting the Integrated Review of the UK’s national security and international policy completed in 2021.
He would not confirm if China is the country that hacked the MoD but said the UK needs to “get the balance right” when it comes to Beijing.
Mr. Stride added:
“By balance, I mean protecting our security. At the same time, I recognise and, of course, China is a very important economic player globally and, of course, big global challenges like climate change need to have China at the table, if we are to resolve those as well.”
Speaking to the Commons in March, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden revealed that the two previous incidents involved an attack on the Electoral Commission – responsible for overseeing elections and political funding – in 2021, as well as targeted attacks on MPs sceptical of China.
Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey said there are “so many serious questions for the defence secretary on this, especially from Forces personnel whose details were targeted”. He added:
“Any such hostile action is utterly unacceptable. Parliament will expect a full Commons statement tomorrow.”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a Conservative MP and former soldier who has been sanctioned by China, told Sky News:
“This is yet another example of why the UK government must admit that China poses a systemic threat to the UK and change the integrated review to reflect that. No more pretence, it is a malign actor, supporting Russia with money and military equipment, working with Iran and North Korea in a new axis of totalitarian states.”
Mr. Ellwood said:
“We are learning the hard way how art warfare is rapidly changing as technology advances. Defending the digital terrain is now just as important as the physical – this is another reminder why we need to invest more in defence and security. Targeting the MoD’s payroll and bank details was probably looking at the financially vulnerable with a view that they may be coerced in exchange for cash. And if this type of cyberattack is taking place here in the UK we can assume other nato countries will be targeted too.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping began a tour of Europe on Monday, although he had no plans to visit the UK. He spent the day in Paris where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Xi Jinping will then visit Serbia on Wednesday and Hungary on Thursday, both countries that are on friendly terms with Beijing.
