This Monday, the United Kingdom accused Chinese “hackers” of being behind it Computer attack on agency responsible for monitoring and monitoring election processes (the British equivalent of the National Electoral Commission), which would have exposed the personal data of millions of people.
Authorities in London have concluded that a group with ties to Beijing tried to hack into the email accounts of British MPs critical of the Chinese regime.
In a statement, the Foreign Office described a computer attack that took place in 2021 that targeted British politicians who had “stood out in condemning China's malign activity”.
Another attack targeting Britain's Electoral Commission dates back to 2021-2022 and has been known since at least last year, but British officials have not yet clarified who was responsible. oh Foreign Secretary David Cameron described the vandalism as “totally unacceptable”, according to the same statement..
In response to the actions, Great Britain decided to impose sanctions on two individuals and a company linked to a group of “hackers” known as APT31, which receives protection from authorities in the People's Republic of China, the Foreign Office said.
The Chinese embassy in London has yet to comment on the allegations.
Normalizing Sino-British relations is very difficult
The Rishi Sunak-led government is trying to strike a delicate balance between neutralizing the security threats of the People's Republic of China, while maintaining or even Strengthening bilateral cooperation in some key areas such as trade, investment and climate change.
Over the past year, Britain has made efforts to improve relations with China after relations between the two countries hit rock bottom under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A crackdown on freedom in Hong Kong.
However, there has been growing concern about Chinese espionage in the UK recently. The general election date in that country is scheduled for the end of 2024.
Tensions have risen between Beijing and Western powers over cyber-espionage issues as Western intelligence agencies have increasingly sounded the alarm. Chinese government-sponsored computer hacking operation.
Last month, security officials told Reuters the U.S. government had launched a crackdown on Chinese hackers who were able to compromise thousands of Internet-connected devices. Days later, Dutch intelligence agencies reported that a group of Chinese cyber spies had gained access to a military network in the Netherlands, which they believed to be Chinese political espionage.
APT31: A group of hackers operating worldwide
oh APT31, the Chinese hacker group that breached the emails of British lawmakersThere is a history of spying on politicians and their staff.
In 2020, security researchers at Google and Microsoft warned that the group was targeting private emails of staff members of Joe Biden's presidential campaign.
According to American cybersecurity firm SecureWorks, APT31 also targets legal, consulting and software development firms.
