Government Confirms Two Cyber Attacks Linked to Chinese State Affiliated Actors

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has criticised "malign" cyber attacks made by China-state affiliated actors, which he said had targeted UK institutions in two separate attacks.

Dowden told the House of Commons that Beijing was behind a slew of attacks on peers and MPs. He said the UK along with the Five Eyes partnership – made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and UK – had found two cyber campaigns targeting democratic institutions and parliamentarians.

The Deputy Prime Minister told the House it was an “absolute priority” for the UK Government to protect Britain's democratic system and values.

“I hope this statement helps to build wider awareness of how politicians and those involved in our democratic processes around the world are being targeted by state-sponsored cyber operations,” he said.

“We will continue to call out this activity, holding the Chinese government accountable for its actions.”

Dowden told MPs the Government did not accept that China's relationship with the United Kingdom is set on a "predetermined course". He said the Government would "continue to hold China and other state actors accountable for their actions".

"We will engage with the Chinese government, but we will not hesitate to take swift and robust actions wherever the Chinese government threatens the United Kingdom's interests," he said.

The government said between 2021-22 the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, found there was a high probability the Electoral Commission was targeted by Chinese state-affiliated actors. However, it said this had not affected any of the UK’s electoral processes.

The NCSC has suggested it was also certain the China state-affiliated APT31 – an advanced persistent threat group –